Avatar: The New Kid in Town
by D4rkp4ssi0ns
Summary: When he makes a deal with a strange man, a normal boy is transported into the world of Avatar, a show he watched a long time ago. He will be given the chance to go on an adventure with the Gaang and become, in his own way, a hero. OC centered story, everything is told from my OC's point of view. My first real fanfiction, I'm hoping to span the entire series. Please read and review!
1. Episode 1: A New World

What's that? You want to hear a story? Well, I don't have many tales to tell, but I do have one that should satisfy you. You might not believe me, but trust me, everything I'm about to tell you is absolutely true. This is the story of how I was brought here by powers beyond my understanding and became a happy citizen of your world…

It all started when I was awoken by a chilly breeze. I sat up and took a good look at my surroundings. I was in some sort of old Temple, the rock walls were cracked and snow covered the ground. The wind picked up again chilling me to the bone, and I quickly scrambled up towards one of the walls to shield myself from the cold breeze. I took a quick look at my clothing and saw that I was wearing nothing but summer clothing: I had my t-shirt which was a bronze-ish brown (looks cooler than it sounds), my jeans, and my shoes which were in desperate need of repair.

"God…t-this is c-cold…W-wonder how I g-got here…" I gasped through chattering teeth.

I started rubbing my arms, trying to warm myself up. After a few moments, I decided to have a look around this temple. I thought that maybe I could find something that could help combat the cold. I started to follow the small path that led towards what I assumed was the main building. As I was walking, I payed close attention to my surroundings, and realised this wasn't a temple, but an old abandoned village of some sort. The architecture seemed familiar, and I saw what looked like a field of sticks, each one with a flat end large enough for someone's feet. I continued walking and led myself into the building.

It was just as cold inside as it was outside, but at least the wind wasn't brushing against my already chilled skin. I walked aimlessly in the halls, my footsteps echoing in the empty building. I was growing slightly more accustomed to the cold by now, and my curiosity about the nature of this place grew with every step. I eventually came to a rather large hall, and at the end was a strange door that appeared to have a multitude of tubes on it and a sculpture of a tree that wrapped around the frame of the doors. I was getting some serious "I've seen this before" vibes, but my memory could not pull up the "before" part of that memory, leaving me with an uneasy feeling of nostalgia. I backed away, deciding it would be too much effort to try to open those large doors.

I ended up going outside again, this time heading down to the smaller buildings I saw when I was headed to the "main building". I suddenly realized that this village was on a mountain. Worried, my need for a blanket or coat was overshadowed by a growing sense of panic that told me that there may not be a way down. The more I looked around the more I realised that I was trapped up here…there was NO way down.

"GAH! WHY!? What did I do to deserve this!?" I screamed to the surrounding mountains. I was beginning to feel a fear I have never felt before. As far as I could tell, there was no one else in this mountain village, I was alone. I decided to look out into the distance. I could see the tops of other mountains, and realized that the altitude at which I was standing was higher than that of the clouds. After being hit by a wave of vertigo, I decided to lie down on my back. The snow that was covering the ground didn't really bother me at that moment.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked myself. I sat up, and looked back at the village. I decided that my time would be better spent doing something other than lying around feeling sorry for myself.

I had spent a few hours exploring the village and finally found an old blanket that I wrapped around my shoulders. My search for other possible supplies led me to a small hut. This was the only building in the village that I did not search yet. I was hoping for a way off this mountain, but I seriously doubted that I would find anything helpful at this point. The entrance to the hut was covered by a thick purple drape, so I lifted it and poked my head inside. It seemed like this used to be a cozy place, but black scars were etched in the stone floor. I had a bad feeling that something happened here. I stepped inside and followed the trail of black marks, and found myself gazing at a haunting scene.

I saw a skeleton; it was dressed in a faded and ripped yellow suit and wore an old wooden pendant. Around it were armor sets, which I guessed also housed skeletons of people who were long dead. From the placement of the bodies, it looked like this was a last stand scenario, the armed soldiers versus this one lone man or woman. What I saw in this room explained why no one was here. This village was a battleground. I backed out of the small building, my mind still holding the image of the skeleton sitting in defeat among the 6 or so soldiers around him.

Something about the armored skeletons was really giving me a sense of déjà vu, like I knew where the designs came from. Why was my memory failing me? I had no answers to that question. My thoughts were interrupted when I saw a large white beast land on one of the platforms at the base of the village. I saw three people get off its back, two dressed in blue winter coats that reminded me of the ones the Inuit wore, and one dressed in a yellow suit that looked just like the clothing on the skeleton.

I slowly made my way down towards the platform. I didn't know who these people were, so I took a detour in order to avoid them just in case my presence would infuriate them. I was planning on talking to them later, but something about that creature they were riding intrigued me. Before stepping onto the platform I made sure the three strangers were nowhere to be seen. When I was sure that they were far away, I stepped onto the platform and made my way towards the large creature. It looked at me lazily, its large brown eyes studying me.

"Hey…I'm not gonna hurt you or anything I just-" I stopped talking when I saw the grey arrow on its head. Then it hit me. "What…?" I asked to myself. "This is….no no no no no no…that would be stupid," I was getting a bad head ache. This whole situation was unbelievable. It had to be a dream.

"What's your name?" I asked what I now knew was a flying bison. "Is it Abba? Abba right?" The bison didn't respond, making me doubt that I had the correct name. "Look…whatever your name is, do you think that your friends could help me out? I'm lost…I guess," I asked softly, stepping closer to the creature. It lifted its head and smelled me, then stuck its tongue out and licked me.

"Ew! Don't do that!" I cried, and then I quickly slapped my hands over my mouth. I tried to ignore the saliva that was now covering my body, trying to think of what to do now. "I think I'll just wait here then," I whispered quietly, taking a seat next to the large "Bison". I decided that it was best for me to just wait for the owners to return. The bison's fur was really warm, and it served as a good shield against the cold winds of the mountain. I almost drifted to sleep, but I woke up when I realised that I was freezing on this mountain for a really long time.

"When are they gonna come back for you?" I asked the Bison. He didn't say anything, of course. I was beginning to think that looking for the trio would be a good idea, but then I realized that the wind had stopped. "That's funny, there should at least be a breeze this high up," I thought. My ears were suddenly pounded by a loud _BOOM_! The winds picked up violently, and I was cowering in fear next to the Bison.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" I cried. I looked up towards the center of the village and saw what appeared to be a tornado. In the centre of it, was a glowing blue orb. Is that who I think it is? I thought. My brain was finally putting the pieces of my memory together again. The wind was deafening and my ears felt like they burst from that initial explosion, I could only imagine how loud that must've been for whoever was near that twister. After a few minutes of hiding near the Bison, the wind suddenly calmed down and the twister disappeared. I was finally able to catch my breath. My heart was beating loudly in my chest and my ears where ringing, but I was happy to still be alive. I looked over at the Bison who had his head up, looking in the former direction of the tornado.

"I'm sure your friends are ok," I said in an unconvincing tone. I knew they were fine, because I finally remembered everything. Although I finally knew where I was, it was still hard to believe that I was here. I even had a hard time believing that the winds didn't send me flying off the side of the mountain.

I remained with the Bison. I don't know how long I sat there, but the sun started to show itself, painting the sky with purple and pink light. I almost got up when I heard footsteps coming. The bison has a similar reaction, his ears perked up and his head turned to the direction of the path leading to the center of the village. On the trail were the three strangers, and I could see them clearly now. One was a girl, she had her hair tied back and wore a blue coat. The boy to her right must've been her Brother, because both of their faces shares many features, and he also wore a blue coat. The small kid walking in front of them was bald and had a blue arrow tattooed on his head. He wore yellow and orange clothes and had what looked like a lemur on his shoulder. I decided to stand up from behind the Bison's legs in order to reveal myself. They stopped walking when they saw me.

"Uh…hi?" I said awkwardly. I took a nervous step forward. They remained still. The atmosphere seemed to tighten.

"Who are you!?" The boy in the blue coat asked.

"What are you doing here?" The other boy asked.

"To be honest, I don't know how I got here," I replied. "Look, I have no idea where I am, and I need a way off this mountain,"

The girl approached me, looking at my clothing. "What are you wearing?" She asked.

"Clothing, what does it look like?" I replied nervously.

"You're right, doesn't look like clothing from the Earth kingdom or the Fire Nation," The small boy said.

"The what?" I asked stupidly.

"I don't care about his clothing, who is he!?" The older boy asked loudly, taking a step towards me. I flinched and took a half step backwards.

"Look bro, I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just some guy. I'm normal and uninteresting!" I stammered. "I don't even know where I am."

"You're in an Air Nomad Temple, at least, what's left of one." The small boy answered.

"A what?" I asked, partially playing dumb, but also out of genuine curiosity.

"Air Nomads…you don't know what an Air Nomad is?" The boy asked me raising an eyebrow.

"…I just want to go home…" I replied.

I was now on the back of the flying Bison whose name, as it turned out, was Appa. The girl, Katara, and her brother Sokka were eyeing me. The younger kid, Aang was at the reigns of the creature, flying it.

"So let me get this straight, you claim that you're not from anywhere here?" Sokka asked me, shoving a map of the world in my face. This was probably the second time he asked me that exact question.

"I've already told you, no, I'm not! Do you see a Canada anywhere on here?" I replied with an annoyed tone, shoving the map back in his face.

"You mean you're really not from anywhere?" Aang asked, turning to face us. I nodded.

"Then what are we going to do with you?" Katara asked. It seemed like she was thinking really hard about my situation.

"That's easy, we drop him off somewhere, and then we can continue our journey to the North pole," Sokka replied. Sokka's answer scared me.

"You can't just leave me!" I cried. Sokka looked at me with an expression that clearly asked "Why not?"

"Look…from what you've all told me about yourselves, and the questions you've asked me about whether or not I've been following you, I gather that you're on some sort of world-wide road trip," I said.

"Don't you mean air trip?" Aang piped up. I rolled my eyes.

"Uh…yeah…anyway, my gut is telling me that you guys might be able to help me find a way home," I continued.

"I guess that makes sense," Katara smiled. "We might bump into someone who might know where you come from,"

Sokka looked at her with a shocked expression. He then looked back at me, and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes before speaking.

"Alright, but don't blame me if he somehow interferes with us," Sokka sighed in a defeated tone. I giggle, and then started to laugh. I was experiencing a mix of emotions, joy, fear, excitement. I was about to LIVE the adventure of Avatar with the main cast!

"Welcome to the family!" Aang smiled at me. I nodded at him.

"I guess I should introduce myself, my name is Fred," I smiled. I shook Sokka's hand, then Katara's and finally Aang's.


	2. Episode 2: Kyoshi Island

We have been travelling for a few days now, stopping pretty much wherever and whenever Aang decided to. During this time I've had a lot of time to speak with my new companions, and I eventually realized that they now thought of me as a permanent member of their group. Even Sokka, who previously distrusted me, spoke to me the same manner that he spoke to the others. They often asked me about where I came from but I mostly dodged the questions, saying that explaining where I came from would take hours. I also inquired about their world to make it look like I was actually learning things, instead of letting them know that I already knew everything. It would probably freak them out if they ever found out.

Their bending impressed me to no end; I'd often ask Katara or Aang to show me a trick because it was so damn cool. It's one thing to see it on TV, but a different thing entirely to see it in person.

"I wish I could bend," I once said while watching Aang move around on his wind orb.

"Don't worry about it, I bet you can do some pretty neat things too," Aang replied with a smile.

"What could be cooler than controlling the four elements with your mind?" I asked.

"Well, what can you do?" He inquired.

"Well…I know some martial arts but I'm far from being an expert…I can fence…and play music," I answered, scratching the back of my head digging for answers.

"Oh cool! What instrument do you play?" He asked. He seemed very interested.

"Uh…a little bit of guitar…Saxophone…piano," I said naming the three instruments. He gave me a puzzled stare. "Guess you don't have those here," I sighed.

One morning while flying on Appa's back, I noticed that Katara was busy stitching a hole in Sokka's pants. The guy tore them while bending over to pick the boomerang that he threw at an animal. While he was waiting for his pants, he began to study a map of the four kingdoms. His eyebrows were raised and he wore a confused expression on his face.

"You don't know where you're going, do you?" He asked our pilot. Aang turned around with an innocent expression on his face.

"Well…I know it's near water!" He replied with a grin. Sokka took a look around, as far as the eye could see, we were surrounded by the blue sea.

"Guess we're getting close then," He sighed. I could not help but laugh a bit at this statement.

We all sat in silence for a short while, then Aang turned towards us. "Hey Katara, check out this air bending trick!" He pulled out some marbles and started to spin them around between his hands with his bending.

"That's great Aang," She replied, still stitching her brother's pants. She never even bothered to look up at the boy.

"You're not even looking," Aang murmured. She turned to face him and repeated what she said.

"I thought it was cool!" I piped up, Aang gave me a half-hearted smile. "Oh right…trying to impress the girl, sorry," His cheeks turned into a slight shade of red, but Katara either didn't hear me or didn't care.

"Don't bug her airhead, give a girl space when she does her sowing," Sokka said. I quickly looked at Katara, she didn't look happy about what he said.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sowing?" Katara asked with venom. I tried to think of a way to shut Sokka up before he insulted his sister any more than he already did.

"Simple…" Sokka Began.

"I'd shut my mouth if I were you," I muttered, but he was on a roll.

"Girls are better at fixing pants than guys are, and men are better at hunting and fighting and all that, it's the natural order," Sokka finished. Katara then threw his pants at him, claiming that she finished the repairs. I couldn't stop laughing.

"I was just kidding!" Sokka pleaded, but his sister ignored him.

"Relax Sokka, where we're going, you won't need pants!" Aang said.

"That's what she said!" I cried. Everyone looked at me with odd expressions. It took me a few moments to realize that no one got the joke.

"I didn't say that," Katara muttered.

"It was…a joke…it's…" I was about to explain it, but their faces made it clear that I should just shut up. "Never mind, it's a joke from where I come from," I huffed, crossing my arms against my chest.

We landed on an island. We dismounted onto the beach. I looked towards the horizon for a few moments, before turning around and looking at the island. There was snow here too, as it was still winter. I was thankful for the coat that Sokka had given me because it completely neutralized the cold. My attention was brought back to Aang, who was excitedly taking his clothes off and heading for the water.

"Look!" He cried pointing out into the distance. We saw a large orange fish leap out of the water, and then dive back in.

"It's Elephant Coy! You have to watch me, Katara!" He cried as he ran for the water. I doubted that entering the waster was going to be very pleasant for the boy.

"Isn't it cold?" I asked as he plunged into the water. He leapt back out of it screaming in agony, giving me my answer. But to my surprise, he continued to swim out further and then he dived under the waves. When he came back up to the surface, only he was on the back of a giant fish. I grinned when I saw this.

"Ok, I have to admit, that is awesome!" I laughed. We could faintly hear Aang's voice crying things like "yyeaahh!" The fish would dive and emerge but Aang stayed locked on its back. Aang made it look really easy.

"He looks pretty good out there," Katara smiled.

"The fish is doing all the work," Sokka said unimpressed. Katara then turned, and started yelling at Appa, who was walking away from us. After that, Sokka and I turned back to Aang. We saw a large wave build up behind Aang's fish. I almost immediately realized that something big was creating that wave.

"Something's in the water!" Sokka cried.

"Hey! Aang! Get out of there!" I quickly shouted. I guessed that Aang couldn't hear us, because he stayed on his fish. Katara came back, and when she realized what was going on, joined in our cries for him to get to shore. But Aang just waved at us with a large grin on his face. Suddenly, his fish stopped moving forward, catapulting Aang off of its back. A huge dorsal fin emerged from the water behind the boy as he landed in the water. After Aang noticed that something was after him, he managed to SPRINT on the surface of the water all the way back to shore and into Sokka, sending the older boy flying into a nearby tree.

"Dude, you can run!" I laughed. Aang chuckled with a nervous smile. After getting over what happened, he started to put his clothes back on.

"What was that?" Katara asked us.

"No idea, but let's not stick around to find out," Sokka replied slapping the snow off of his coat. We were about to head towards Appa, but a large group of people wearing green uniforms seemingly appeared from the thin air around us. Sokka was grabbed from behind. I tried to defend myself, but my actions rewarded me with a rather painful arm-bar. Katara and Aang were also quickly subdued. We were all blindfolded and tied by our captors, then dragged off in an unknown direction. Once our captors got us to wherever they wanted us to be, it felt like the strangers tied us to something.

"You four have some explaining to do!" A man's voice cried.

"If you don't answer all our questions, we'll be throwing you in the water with the Unagi," A female added.

"Show yourselves cowards!" Sokka cried. I felt a hand grab the blindfold on my face and tear it away. We were in a village, tied to a wooden pole and surrounded by women in green uniforms. Their faces were painted with white and red colours. All the villagers were present behind them, silently watching us.

"Who are you, and where are the men who ambushed us?" Sokka asked. Somehow, I guessed what the answer would be.

"There were no men, we ambushed you!" One of the girls answered. "Now tell us! Who are you and what are you doing here!?"

"Hold on a second, there is no way a bunch of girls took us down," Sokka almost laughed.

"Believe it, because it happened," I replied. I was beginning to get a little annoyed by Sokka's sexism. The girl grabbed Sokka with force.

"Just a bunch of girls huh!?" She asked. Sokka was visibly intimidated when this happened.

"Don't hurt him! My brother can be an idiot sometimes," Katara quickly apologized.

"That's an understatement," I grumbled while rolling my eyes.

Aang began to explain why we were here. For a moment I thought he'd save our asses, but an old man dressed in an exquisite blue robe accused us of being fire nation spies. It was clear that he did not believe a single word that came out of Aang's mouth.

"The Kyoshi stayed out of the war this long, and we intend to keep it that way," The old man said.

"Kyoshi? You mean like avatar Kyoshi? I know her!" Aang exclaimed.

"How could you? She's been dead for centuries!" The old man growled.

"I know her because I'm the avatar," Aang replied.

"That's impossible! The last Avatar was an Air bender who disappeared 100 years ago," One of the girls cried.

"Throw the imposter to the Unagi!" The old man ordered. The girls began moving towards us and I began to panic.

"Aang! Do something!" I cried. I started to struggle against my bindings, but they held firm.

"Air bend!" Katara added.

Aang took a deep breath and let out a huge gust of wind from his lungs, launching himself into the air. The force that was unleashed from the boy was so strong that his bindings failed to keep him pinned down. He rose into the air and then softly to the ground. Aang stood there and posed for the crowd.

"It's true then…" The old man gasped. The people in the crowd that had gathered around us were equally impressed.

"And now…WATCH THIS!" Aang reached into his shirt and pulled out his marbles. He proceeded to spin them around with his bending. I was relieve that we were saved, but I thought that Aang had already made his point.

"Aang…they get it, you're the Avatar," I sighed with a chuckle. He looked back at me and put his marbles away.

After Aang was revealed to be the avatar, the entire mood of the village changed. We were instantly released, and we were welcomed with open arms. The old man apologized to us, and Aang assured him that it was ok. In order to effectively apologize, the old man decided to offer us a place to stay for a few days. When we were showed to some rooms in one of the houses, I almost cried out in joy. It had been a long time since I laid eyes on a bed, and the one that I was looking at looked like it was worth more than a million dollars.

"Guys! Can you believe this? We are being treated like royalty!" I laughed. "Do you think that it will be like this with every town that we visit?"

"I don't know, my village wasn't exactly thrilled to have the Avatar around," Katara answered. Even when she answered like that, her smile told me that she was enjoying the treatment.

We ate well that night, and after filling my stomach with more food that I thought could fit, I got ready for bed. While I slept, I had my first dream since coming to this world. In the dream, I was in my world standing in an alley. I was walking home when suddenly; I was stopped by a man with a rather large top hat. I couldn't see his face, because a shadow was covering it, but I somehow knew that he was smiling at me.

"Then it's a deal!" He cried gleefully. I woke up right after hearing those words.

"That was a weird dream," I said to myself. I got up, put some clothes on, and then headed to the dinning hall where I found Katara and Aang digging into a pile of exquisite deserts.

"Look who's finally up!" Aang waved. "Did you sleep well?"

"I Guess I did, those beds are really comfy," I smiled. "I did have this dream about some guy in an alley though,"

"Oh? What happened next?" Aang asked.

"He just said 'It's a deal!' then I woke up," I replied. Aang seemed to think about it. After a short silence, he got an idea.

"Think maybe it has something to do with why you're here?" Aang suggested. I shrugged, and then asked what it was we were eating. Aang laughed and handed me a small cake. I bit into it and was surprised by how sweet it was. It only took a few seconds before I was grabbing everything I could get my hands on and stuffing it into my mouth.

"Sokka, why aren't you eating?" Aang asked. Sokka was sitting in a corner of the room alone with a grimace on his face.

"I'm not hungry," He replied. If he was trying to hide something, he was not doing a good job. I could easily tell that something was bothering him.

"He's just upset that a bunch of GIRLS beat him up yesterday," Katara told us with a mocking tone.

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka countered.

"Right, and then they kicked your butt," Katara laughed.

"That doesn't count!" Sokka almost yelled as he got up. He started to head out of the room, but then he turned back to grab food from my plate. I let him take a few things, and decided to tease him a bit more.

"Let me know when you lose again!" I cried as he left. He slammed the door in response.

"I don't know why he's so angry, it's great here!" Aang smiled.

"Don't get too comfortable, it's dangerous for us to stay in one place for too long," Katara replied with a hint of worry.

"Oh relax," I laughed. "What harm is it doing to these people if we stay for a few days?"

"He's right, look at how happy I'm making these people!" Aang added. "They are even fixing up Kyoshi's statue in my honor,"

"Just don't let this get to your head," Katara sighed.

Now, I don't know what part of "don't let this get to your head," Aang didn't get, but every time I saw him, he was always being chased, pampered or admired by the girls of the town. It was strangely hilarious; I actually thought that it was cute whenever I saw the girls giving all of this attention to the boy. Katara would often ask me to help her with packing up supplies because her brother was too busy being butt hurt over our ambush. When we were not packing, she'd roll her eyes and put on a face of disgust whenever she saw Aang surrounded by his admirers.

"Calm down, let him enjoy this," I once told her.

"If he keeps this up, we might be staying here for weeks instead of a few days," She replied. The conversation didn't extend far beyond that.

…

Once I was free to do as I pleased, I decided to go and watch something funny. I went to the Kyoshi dojo, and hid in some bushes. Sokka soon showed up and headed inside. When I was sure he wouldn't notice me, I placed myself in the doorway and watched him. He was bragging about how "He was the best warrior in his village," and that "The girls wouldn't stand a chance against him" and they let him fill up his head. They would also sarcastically reply to him, but he never noticed. This made it difficult for me to hold back my laughter.

"How about giving us a demonstration?" The head warrior asked. Sokka was only too happy to agree. He tried punching the girl, but she easily blocked it with her fan. He awkwardly congratulated her, and then attempted to kick her. Once again, the girl blocked the strike. After a quick scuffle, he ended up on his back and I almost lost it. He left to dojo with his head down and when he saw me, he quickly looked away. I decided to try and cheer him up, even if I laughed at him a few minutes earlier.

"Hey, don't worry about it," I told him. "Everyone starts off sucking when they first try something,"

"But I'm a warrior of the water tribe! I should be able to protect my tribe… Like my father,"

"Tell me, how many actual fights did you get into? How much real combat experience do you have?" I asked him. He opened his mouth, but then he begun to realise what I was saying.

"Look, I know a bit of martial arts. I'm far from being a master, but I could teach you what I know if you want. Also, I think if you apologize to those girls for treating them the way you did, they might teach you some of their moves. Who knows? Maybe they have some better fighting techniques than the water tribe," I patted his back, wished him luck, and then headed back towards the large building facing the statue of Avatar Kyoshi.

I headed up to my room, and found my bag. I was surprised to see that it was packed. I didn't remember packing, so I guessed that Katara must've been busy packing our gear. I started going through the few belongings that I had trying to find something that I may have missed.

I had a pair of pants, and the T-shirt I was wearing when I first appeared in this world. I was about to put my clothes back inside when I felt something in the pocket of my jeans. I reached inside and felt something cold. I smiled when I pulled it out. It was my Ipod, I didn't question what it was doing in my pocked. I guessed that when I was transported here the Ipod was still in my pocket, and that I just forgot about it.

I hit the power button, and saw the display light up with the apple symbol. I waited for a few seconds, and then the pass code screen came up. I checked the charge level for the battery. It was almost 100%. It felt good to know that I would still be able to listen to my music, but I would need to be economical of the battery because I knew that there would be no way to recharge it once it depleted.

"What is that?" Katara asked behind me. She surprised me so much I dropped my Ipod onto the floor. Quickly I grabbed it and inspected it. A large scratch had appeared on the back, but the screen was undamaged.

"It's nothing," I replied. "Just my music player,"

"Music player? How does it play music?"

"It a device from my world," I explained. "I'm not entirely sure how it works, seeing as I am not an expert in this field," I turned it on and showed her the screen. "You just touch the screen to give it commands,"

"What does it want me to do?" She asked puzzled. I realized that she never saw something like this before in her entire life.

"Oh, right," I remembered. I placed my finger on the unlock bar, slid it, and then typed in my code. I called up my music app, then showed her the list of songs I had. "Poke the one you want to listen to," I said. "If you want to look at the other stuff I have, slide your finger like this," I demonstrated how to scroll through the list of music. I then realized that she was unable to read English, so I proceeded to read out the titles of the songs for her as she scrolled through them.

"This one has an interesting title," She said. I didn't pay attention to which title she was talking about, so I had to ask.

"Which one did you pick?"

"I chose-" She was then interrupted by a wall of drums and electric guitars as "The Fox and the Wolf" by Bring me the Horizon began. I had my speaker volume all the way up, so we could clearly hear it. Her eyes widened when the sound assaulted her ears. I quickly turned the music off.

"Maybe you shouldn't pick metal just yet," I laughed nervously as I scrolled through my music to find something more…civilised.

"You call that music!?" She asked.

"It's an acquired taste!" I replied. I then choose Nero, by Two Steps from Hell. I loved this particular organisation because they composed some nice pieces. Katara seemed to enjoy this song much more than the last.

"That's much better," She smiled. "But how DOES it play this music?"

"I don't know the specifics, but it sends signals to the speaker here," I said, showing the small hole for the speaker at the base of the Ipod. "The speaker interprets these signals and creates sound based on them," She seemed like she understood the basic idea. I allowed the music to play for a few more moments, but I turned off the Ipod in order to preserve the battery. Katara went back to packing, this time she was packing our food. I realized that we must be getting close to leaving, so I asked about Aang.

"Where is Aang?" I already knew the answer, but I still felt the need to ask.

"He's off playing with his girlfriends," Katara grumbled. She sounded like she was jealous.

"Do you need to be so glum about it?"

"Don't you start with that! We need to leave soon, if word gets out that the Avatar is here, these people will be in danger," Katara snapped at me. I stood quietly for a few moments.

"I see your point," I nervously said. She didn't reply.

…

Katara was busy playing with some water, making it spin and move with her bending. She looked pretty bored. I didn't really have anything to do so I sat nearby watching her bend the water. Aang eventually entered the room.

"Katara…remember how the Unagi almost got me yesterday? Well, I'm going to go ride it now!" The boy smiled.

"Good for you," She said sarcastically, not looking up from her water bowl. My eyes widened in surprise.

"You're not going to stop me?" Aang asked, probably just as surprised as I was.

"Nope, have fun," Katara sneered. Aang was still recovering from the initial shock, but quickly recovered.

"I will!" He said.

"Great,"

"I know it's great," Aang crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I'm glad you know," Katara replied.

"I'm glad you're glad,"

"Good!" Katara almost yelled.

"FINE!" Aang cried as he stormed off. I was confused. It felt like I missed half of the conversation.

"I'm sorry…what just happened?" I asked.

Katara looked at me with a worried expression. I stared back, my look of confusion still stamped on my face.

"I'm going to get Aang," She told me as she got up to leave.

"Alright, have fun," I replied.

"I will,"

"Alright, good," I added.

"It is good," She answered. I really didn't want this to be another odd exchange.

"Please just let me have to last word," I begged. She giggled then left.

...

I was alone, enjoying my music. I tried thinking about how I would get home, but my thoughts turned to the dream I had. Who was that man? What deal was he talking about? The questions swirled round and round in my head. I looked down at my Ipod and noticed that the charge had diminished. I quickly turned it off and cursed myself for forgetting about the battery limit. Everything was quiet, and with nothing to do, I stepped towards the bowl of water that Katara had left. I examined it for a moment.

"I wonder if I could…" I asked myself, stretching out my arms towards to water. Nothing happened. I flicked my wrist, but the water remained still.

"Who am I kidding?" I laughed. "Of course I can't bend, I'm not from here!" I said as I began to turn away from the bowl.

Before it left my sight, I thought I saw the water move. I looked again, and the water rippled at regular intervals. _Weird_, I thought. I kept looking at the water, and then realised that the earth was shaking.

"What is that?" I asked myself, and then I heard a large explosion. I rushed over to the window and saw that the Kyoshi warriors locked in combat with Fire Benders…on rhinos? My brain was trying to process what was going on, but I heard the door behind me get kicked down. I turned in time to see a Fire Bender soldier wielding a spear advance towards me.

"Where is the Avatar?" He growled. After sitting there for a few moments and no giving him and answer, he decided to lunge at me with his spear. I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the sharp tip.

I ducked underneath a nearby table, and pressed my feet again the underside. When the solder approached it, I kicked the table hoping to hit his chin. Being under a table, you can't judge distance correctly. I saw the table fly a few inched upwards before landing on the ground again. Instead of standing upright, it was now on its side.

Before I could get up, the spear of my opponent burst through the top of the table, and stopped a few inches in front of my face. I quickly grabbed the spear and pulled. The soldier wasn't expecting this, ad so I managed to pull the weapon out of his hands. I managed to pull the rest of the spear through the table, and was glad to know that I now had a weapon.

I stood up, and pointed my spear at the Fire Bender. He didn't seem worried. He threw a punch, and a fireball came shooting towards me. I ducked with a yelp, barely avoiding the speeding projectile. He then kicked low, sending a streak of fire towards my feet. I hopped over it and began to run towards him.

I tried to preform a quick stab, but he sidestepped out of the way to my right. Quickly, I smacked his head with the back end of the spear, making him step back. I then jammed the weapon between his legs, and tripped him.

I jumped on my downed opponent and grabbed the cloth around his neck. I then started to apply a cross choke, keeping my body close and my thumbs turned towards his neck. He struggled for a bit, but the lack of blood to his head caused him to pass out. I held it for just another second, to make sure he was knocked out. When I released the choke, I heard snores escaping from my opponent. I hovered over him to make sure his breathing was alright. After I was sure that he was just a noisy sleeper, I grabbed as much of the food and clothing as I could and ran downstairs towards the exit.

The outside was a real battlefield. The fire benders managed to destroy many of the homes that lined the main street, and they were over powering the Kyoshi warriors with their flames. I was lucky enough to find Aang and Katara behind a house with Appa. They told me that leaving the island would be the best option, seeing as these soldiers were here for Aang and not the Kyoshi warriors. I threw our gear onto the Bison then climbed up onto its back. It only took Sokka a few more moments to find us, and when he climbed aboard, we took off.

"I know it's hard but you did the right thing," Katara told Aang, reassuring him that running away would save these people.

The kid looked really down, and I couldn't help but feel sad for the people of Kyoshi Island as well. Suddenly, Aang leapt off Appa's back and dived into the water below. Katara cried out after him.

Aang didn't resurface for a few long moments, but when he did, he was on the back of the Unagi. The large eel-like creature tried to shake him off, but Aang gave a large tug on its whiskers. As a result, the Unagi spraid water out of its mouth like a giant fire hose. Aang aimed the stream at the village in order to put out the fires. When Aang was finished, Appa swopped down and picked up our pilot.

"I know, I know! That was stupid and dangerous," Aang said as he climbed back onto Appa's back.

"Yes, it was," Katara half laughed. She then gave him a big hug, and Aang couldn't help but grin.

I looked over at Sokka, and noticed that he was wearing a Kyoshi warrior uniform.

"Hey, nice dress," I smiled. He gave me an angry stare. We continued to fly into the sunset, leaving the Island of Kyoshi behind us.


	3. Episode 3: The City of Omashu

"Welcome to the Earth Kingdom of Omashu!" Aang exclaimed as he pointed a large city in the distance. I was amazed by the size of the wall that surrounded it. "I used to come here all the time to visit my friend Bumi."

"Wow! We don't have cities like this in the South Pole," Katara gasped.

"They have buildings that don't melt," Sokka remarked. I thought that his statement was rather strange because of how cold I assumed it was in the South Pole. But because I have never actually been there before, I kept my mouth shut.

Aang landed us away from the city and dismounted enthusiastically. I was trying to decide wether or not it would be a good idea for us to stop here instead of heading for the North Pole, but Aang's voice broke my train of thought.

"Come on slow pokes, the real fun is inside the city!" Aang began to run towards the city of Omashu.

"Aang wait! It could be dangerous if people know you're the Avatar!" Katara cried.

"You need a disguise," Sokka added.

"Am I the only one who thinks we should be headed to the North Pole?" I asked. I was surprised that I was the only one with that on my mind.

"There is that too!" Sokka cried. Aang, however, really wanted to stay for a bit.

"Please? There is something I want to show you guys," Aang begged. I looked back at Sokka's face. He looked like he knew that he would not be able to argue with the boy.

"Fine, but disguise first," Sokka sighed.

We fitted Aang with a fake mustache and a fake wig. Both of these items were crafted from Appa's hair. Aang kept on complaining about how itchy his disguise was for the whole walk to the front of the wall. I was starting to get annoyed, but Katara spoke.

"Aang, get in character," Katara told the boy.

"Don't talk back to me young lady! I am your elder and I demand respect!" Aang croaked trying to sound old. I almost slapped my hand to my face when I heard his unconvincing act.

"On second thought, don't say anything, anyone can see through that act" I muttered.

As we approached the gate, Aang was telling us about how nice the people of Omashu were, only to be contradicted by a guard sending a merchant's cabbage chart over the edge of the bridge. I made a mental note telling myself to not listen to Aang's outdated information on this world after seeing that.

"Just keep smiling," Aang nervously laughed. We followed him and were eventually stopped by one of the three guards who were standing at the…wall?

"State your business!" The guard cried. Aang ran up to him and started giving him an "old timer earful." Pure nonsense was coming out of him, and I was tempted to place my hand over his mouth to shut him up. But luckily, the Guard bought it and asked Aang to settle down.

"What's your name?" The Guard asked.

"Name's Bonzu Pinpapadleoptucopolus the Third" Aang croaked. "And these are my Grandkids,"

"Hi, I'm June Pinpapadleoptucopolus," Katara smiled. I was surprised that she managed to remember what Aang had said, it sounded like pure gibberish to me.

"You seem like a responsible young lady, keep your grandfather out of trouble," The Guard told Katara. "Enjoy Omashu!" We began to walk towards the wall, when the guard stopped Sokka.

"You seem like a strong young man, show respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag!"

Aang was only too happy to throw his bag to Sokka, who reluctantly took it. The Guards Earth Bended an entrance into the city, and we entered. Once we were inside, the guards closed the wall behind us. I didn't realize that they paid no attention to me until after I was inside. But when I looked around, that thought was quickly chased out of my brain.

Omashu was a large city. Many people were talking to each other and there were many guards marching through the streets. There were slides all over the place. Every now and then, a package would zoom by. I guessed that these slides were the city's mailing system. I didn't like Aang's next idea.

"You sure this is safe?" I asked nervously. We were all sitting in a cart that was on one of the slides. A vague childhood memory of a rollercoaster came back to me. If I remembered correctly, I was a sniffling and crying wreck when I got off that ride.

"Oh yeah," Aang replied. "Totally safe. After this ride, I promise, we go to the North Pole!"

"I don't think this is such a good idea-" Katara protested, but Aang rocked our cart and we sped down. The only person who seemed to be enjoying himself was Aang, who was laughing with glee. Sokka, Katara and I were all yelling, fearing for our lives. My old memories were not making this ride any more enjoyable.

"Aang! If we die on this, I'll kill you!" I yelled. I turned around in time to see another chart behind us. This one had a rather extensive collection of sharp weapons on it, and all of them were pointed towards us. Aang noticed that the chart was slowly catching up to us, and so he managed to send our chart off the track and into the city.

I was really close to peeing myself as we bounced from roof to roof and into the city streets. We managed to land on another track. Katara thought it'd be a great idea to remind Aang that he was an Air bender. Aang made the cart move faster, and I started to scream loudly. The same fear of roller coasters that gripped me when I was a kid came rushing back to me.

"I HATE ROLLER COASTERS!" I cried as we sped down the track. I don't remember what happened after that, I guess that the adrenalin must've made me forget. The last thing I remembered was landing on a cart of cabbage, and being arrested by the city guards.

We were brought before the king of Omashu, who seemed like a decrepit old man who was just waiting for the fabled Grim Reaper to pay him a visit. Despite his appearance, he had a sparkle in his eye that kind of made him look like a mad scientist.

"Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses and malicious destruction of cabbages. What do you want us to do with them?" A guard asked his king.

"Throw them-" The king began, I held my breath as I waited for the worse kind of punishment imaginable.

"A feast!" The kind finished.

This caught everyone by surprise, but the guards did as they were ordered. We were soon seated in front of a large table with a large selection of dishes just waiting to be eaten. Momo, Aang's lemur, was busy munching away on anything he could grab from the table. The King was standing over us, his breath reeked and his skin was…unpleasant to look at.

"The people in my city have grown fat from too many feasts," He told us. "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin," He smiled as he offered a chicken leg to Aang. Aang declined saying that he was a vegetarian, so the king took his drumstick and shoved it into Sokka's mouth without waiting to see if the boy was ready to take it.

"He is so weird," I whispered. Both Aang and Katara nodded.

"So where are you from?" The king asked as he went to his side of the table and sat down.

"I'm from…Kangaroo Island!" Aang replied.

"Kangaroo Island eh…I head that place is really hoppin'." The king replied, punctuating his last word. No one laughed at the joke for a while, but Sokka eventually gave in and laughed. We all stared at him, and he stopped laughing.

"All of these good jokes are making me tired," The king yawned. "Guess it's time to hit the hay,"

Instead of going to sleep like he said he would, the king threw a chicken leg at Aang, who caught it with his air bending. The guards all gasped.

"There is an Air Bender in our presence!" The king laughed. "And not just any bender, but the AVATAR!"

Aang dropped the drumstick nervously.

"Alright, you caught me, I'm the Avatar," Aang said, getting up from his chair. "I'm just doing my Avatar duty of keeping the world safe. Everything here looks good, so I guess we should get going then," He grabbed Katara, Sokka and I and began walking us towards the exit. We were unfortunately blocked by the guards.

"Let us leave!" Katara cried. The king grinned.

"Lettuce leaf?" Asked the king, picking up a Lettuce leaf and then eating it.

"We're in trouble," Sokka whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't notice," I replied. The king told us that Aang would have to face 3 deadly challenges if he wanted to leave. Then, he had his guards send us to a rather nice prison cell that had three nice and expensive looking beds. I was beginning to question if this was actually a cell.

"Well…what do we do now?" I asked, pacing around the circular room.

"We're going to find a way out," Katara answered. Aang seemed to get an idea.

"I know! Momo can fit through the air vent and get Appa!" Aang cried, he grabbed the now bloated lemur and proceeded to try to shove him into one of the air vents.

"Uh Aang…pull him out before he gets stuck," I sighed.

"And even if he could get through, how is Appa supposed to help us?" Sokka asked.

"Appa is a 10 ton flying Bison, he could figure something out," Aang replied.

"There is no point in doing anything right now, let's just get some sleep," Katara told us as she lied down on one of the beds. Everyone else followed suit, and I was left standing.

"Where am I going to sleep?" I asked. I received no answer. "I hate you all so much right now," I grumbled as I tried to make myself comfortable on the floor.

We woke up separated from Aang in custody of the guards. Katara, Sokka and I all asked the guards "What's happening?", but he would not answer. We were eventually led out into the throne room of the king, and there we saw Aang accept the challenges of the King.

"I have given your friends rings made of Genemite, also known as Creeping Crystals," He told Aang.

The guard placed rings on our fingers. My ring tightened around my finger and I was unable to remove it. Katara and Sokka had the same luck.

"This crystal grows remarkably fast, and by nightfall, they will be completely covered in it. If you cooperate, I will save them," The king told Aang. As is to prove his points, the crystals on the ring grew in size, nearly immobilizing my ring finger. Aang agreed, and soon he began his challenges.

…

Aang managed to complete two of the three challenges, and now he was at his final test. Katara, Sokka and I were nearly completely covered by the crystals, but we were certain that Aang would finish his final challenge before were were completely encased in our crystals.

"You've retrieved my lunchbox key and found fluffy. Now, you must fight someone and win! You can choose anyone to fight!" The king instructed Aang. Two rather large warriors stood near the king, and both looked really tough.

"You mean I can fight ANYONE in this room?" Aang asked. The king nodded. Before Aang made his choice I got a really good idea, and interrupted.

"Fight me!" I cried. Aang looked at me with a questioning look, but then he saw how incapacitated I was by the crystals.

"I'll fight Fred," Aang answered with a wide smile. The king started to laugh ferociously.

"HAHAHA! You have already won this challenge! No point in making you two fight if one of you can't defend yourselves!" He giggled. "A shame you didn't pick me, I would've loved to see the shock on your face," The king added. He flexed his arm and we saw a rather large muscle bulge.

"So…if I won…does that mean we can leave?" Aang asked.

"There is one more test!" The king smiled.

"Another one!?" I cried. I was actually surprised that the king pulled another test out of his-

"What's my name?" The king giggled, interrupting my train of thought. Aang began to ponder his question.

"How am I supposed to figure out his name?" Aang asked us.

"I know! It's Rocky!" Sokka smiled. We all looked at him. "You know, because he's an Earth king and all,"

"…We are going to keep trying, but that is a good backup," Katara said. "Think about the challenges, Aang. Maybe his name has something to do with those,"

"I got a key from the waterfall, I saved his pet…and I had an almost duel with Fred," He answered.

"And What did you learn?" Katara asked.

"Well…everything was different than expected…I had to think outside the box to solve each one…" Aang thought. His eyes lit up. "I know his name!"

…

So as it turned out, the King's name was Bumi. The king giggled when Aang answered his question, then the two hugged. I had a hard time believing that this old man was Aang's old friend.

"This is all very touching, but can you take these crystals off? They are kinda heavy," I cried. The king made a swift movement with his hand, and all the crystals that covered us came clean off.

"You never were in real danger, this was actually candy!" Bumi explained as he chewed on a shard of the crystals that were previously encasing us. I picked up a shard, and cautiously placed it into my mouth. It tasted just like a candy cane.

"Why did you do all this?" Sokka asked.

"First of all, it's fun messing with people!" Bumi laughed.

"In other words, he's a troll," I added in between mouthfuls of crystals.

"But I do have a reason," Bumi turned to his old friend. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead of you, it is your duty to restore balance to the world by defeating fire lord Ozai. You must master all four elements in order to be ready, and when the final battle comes, I hope you will think like a mad genius!" Bumi looked at Katara, Sokka and I and smiled. "You'll need your friends too,"

"Thank you!" Aang smiled. "But before we go, I have a challenge for you,"

Outside, Aang and Bumi were riding the mailing service, both were laughing like maniacs as they sped on the many twists and turns of the system.

"Remind me again why this guy is the king of a city?" I asked. No one seemed to have an answer, not even the king's guards.


	4. Episode 4: Prison Break

We took refuge in a forest a few days away from Omashu. The temperature here was warm enough for me to change back into my clothing, and did it ever feel good to be in that t-shirt again. I was a small distance away from the group, looking for something to do. There was a small stream that passed by, and once again, a childlike urge in me was begging my limbs to try bending the water or the earth around me. "That's ridiculous," I told myself. But I gave into the urge, and took a stance similar to the one I've seen Katara use in front of the steam.

"Move!" I cried as I moved my limbs, but the water didn't do anything, it simply kept on flowing. I moved my arms more fluidly, like Katara, but I was having no luck…That is until I thought I saw small ripples form when I was moving my hands back and forth. At the same time though, a breeze had picked up. Am I doing that? Or is it the breeze? I thought. I laughed at myself and headed back to the group. Sokka was there, showing what he got for food, which wasn't much. Momo, the lemur, was trying to crack one of the nuts on a nearby rock.

"That's a rock," I told the small animal when I got a better look at the object in his hand. He looked at me with his big green eyes, then he dropped the rock and climbed onto my shoulder.

"Seriously, what else do you have?" Katara asked her brother. Sokka flipped his bag over, but only dust came out. Before he could speak, he was interrupted by a loud bang. We all looked around, trying to locate where the sound came from.

"What was that!?" Sokka nervously yelped.

We heard the bang again, this time it was clearer. Aang pointed in the direction of where the sound resonated from, and we took off in order to find out what was making that racket.

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms?" Sokka asked us, but we ignored him. We followed the stream to a small trench. We hid on the side and peered inside, the source of the sound was an earth bender practicing his bending on large rocks. He flung them into the walls of the trench, and smashed them together.

"An earth bender," Katara smiled.

"We should say hi," Aang suggested.

"He looks dangerous, we should approach him cautiously," Sokka whispered.

"Are you kidding? Don't we need an earth bending teacher for Aang? We should be jumping at him," I replied. I noticed that Katara was no longer with us. "Where did your sister go?" I asked the Water Tribe warrior. He looked around and gasped when he saw his sister approaching the bender, her arms waving in the air for his attention.

"Hello there! I'm Katara! What's your name?" She called in a friendly voice. The earth bender turned around, with a terrified expression on his face. He then bolted away as fast as he could.

"NICE TO MEET YOU!" Aang cried after him.

"I just wanted to say hi," Katara sighed.

"Yeah, well next time, don't act so friendly, it's kinda creepy," I remarked.

"He's got to be headed somewhere," Aang turned to face us. "Maybe we're near a village, and maybe it has a market!"

"Which means no nuts for dinner," Katara triumphantly cried as she started to chase after the earth bender.

"Hey! I worked hard for those nuts!" Sokka protested. Momo flew over his head.

"And no one seems to appreciate that," I laughed. Sokka sighed and started to run after Aang and Katara. He gestured for me to follow, and I did.

We soon found a village, it was surprisingly large despite the number of people that lived here. Aang was shopping for whatever trinket he could find. I head my stomach growl, so I pulled out a shard of the creeping crystal that Bumi had imprisoned us in. I had a rather healthy supply of the stuff, and I tried my best to keep my stash secret from the others, I was very selfish when it came to candy. I quickly munched my shard, swallowing the blue crystal in record time. Sokka asked me what it was I just ate, and I told him it was one of his nuts. He laughed at my joke.

"Hey!" Katara gasped, we all turned to her just in time to see her walk into a small shop. We followed her inside the shop was the earth bender with, who I presumed was his mother.

"Hi, why did you run away?" Katara asked.

"You must have me confused with someone else," He nervously replied.

"No she doesn't, we saw you earth bending!" Aang happily answered. The two villagers gasped, and soon the mother rushed to the door and windows and closed them.

"They saw you doing what?" The mother gasped.

"They're crazy mom! Look at how they are dressed!" The boy protested.

"Why does everyone say I'm dressed weird?" I questioned.

"You know how dangerous that is!" The mother warned her son. "You know what would happen if THEY caught you earth bending!" We heard knocks on the door, and a voice ordered us to open the door. Sokka lifted the curtains a little and peeked outside.

"Fire benders," He whispered. "Act natural," everyone took a pose somewhere in the room, and seeing as I didn't want to be the odd one out, I took a pose, pretending to be frozen while browsing through the stores items. Aang's hand slipped on the barrel he was leaning on, causing him to fall over.

"What do you want? I already paid you this week!" The woman cried.

"The tax just doubled, and we wouldn't want an accident now would we?" the soldier made a rather large ball of fire appear between his hands. "Fire can be so hard to control sometimes," He smirked. The woman's face contorted into a defeated expression. She slowly walked behind the counter and pulled out a small chest. Inside must've been the money that her shop collected. She pulled out most of the coins inside and handed it to the soldier.

"You can keep the copper ones," He said as he flung aside the useless coins and kept the silver ones. He had a rather large grin, and I nearly jumped on him.

"Pig," I whispered. He stopped and turned to me.

"Did you say something?"

I looked up at him, "I called you a pig," I replied. He locked eyes with me for a long moment, and then laughed.

"I won't waste my time on you, boy," He grinned. He turned away and walked out the store.

"Nice guy," Sokka grumbled. He turned towards the woman. "How long has the fire nation been here?"

"5 years," The woman answered. "Fire lord Ozai uses our coal to fuel his ships,"

"They are thugs," The boy added. "They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything,"

"Quiet Harue! Don't talk like that," The mother cried fearfully.

"But Harue is an earth bender, he can help!" Katara protested.

"Earth bending is forbidden!" The woman snapped. "It's caused nothing but misery, he must never use his abilities,"

"How can you say that? Harue has a girt!" Katara took a step forward. "Asking him not to earth bend is like asking me not to water bend. It's a part of who we are,"

"You don't understand,"

"I understand that Harue can help you fight back! What can the fire nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

"They can take Harue away! Like they took his father," The woman nearly cried with this statement. Katara just stared at her with a shocked expression.

Harue lead us to a barn on a hill. He explained that his family owned this land, and that his mother had allowed us to stay the night. He urged us to leave in the morning, and I understood why he would've wanted that.

"Thanks! I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay," Aang smiled. We turned to see the Bison munching on a pile of hay. I placed by bags down and started to unroll my sleeping bag. Momo flew around the barn a few times, looking at every nook and cranny. Katara stepped out of the barn in order to speak with Harue, leaving us to get things ready for the night.

"Hey Aang," I asked. The Avatar turned to face me.

"What's up?" He answered.

"I was wonder, how do you feel around the other elements? Do you get like…a feeling like you should be controlling them?" I wondered. He paused and thought for a moment.

"Well, I wouldn't quite describe it like that," He replied after a moment. "Why? Is this about you not being a bender?"

"Yes….no! No not at all, just answer my question," I laughed nervously.

"I sometimes get a feeling that asks me to try to bend the other elements," Aang explained. "Like my arms just want to push and pull the earth or water," I froze when I heard this. I did get a similar feeling when I was alone.

"Don't worry, just because you can't bend doesn't mean you're useless," Aang told me.

"That's not it…" I paused. "When I'm alone…I try to bend," I whispered to him so that Sokka couldn't hear. The Avatar laughed.

"Really?" He giggled, but then he stopped when he saw my serious expression.

"Yeah…and I sometimes get that feeling you described," I added. He paused for a moment.

"Are there any benders from where you come from?"

"No, no one can bend, it doesn't exist where I come from," I explained. He gave me a quizzical look, but didn't press further. "It's strange, I am now thinking about the dream I had back on Kyoshi Island,"

"Think maybe you CAN bend?" Aang asked.

"No, it's impossible," I replied firmly. But part of me hoped that I was wrong.

After an hour, Katara came back. Sokka asked her where she was, and she told us about how Harue helped an old man trapped in a collapsed tunnel using his bending. Both Aang and Katara seemed pleased with Harue's actions, but I wasn't so sure.

"That was stupid," I said. Katara and Aang looked at me with shocked expressions.

"How could you say that?" Aang questioned.

"This town in gripped with fear, and I wouldn't put it past the fire nation to put a reward for people to turn in earth benders," I explained. "Now this reward maybe isn't just a monetary reward, maybe it's immunity from taxation or something like that. They are controlling these people through fear, and fear can make people do almost anything. I wouldn't be surprised if that old man turns Harue in," I sighed.

"People are better than that," Katara snapped. "I don't think the old man would do something so cruel to his savior,"

I shrugged in response, ending the exchange. We slowly drifted to sleep, and that night, I had a dream. I was in the alley, and once again, I was standing in front of the man who's face I couldn't see.

"Another thing," I added. "…to be able to…" I couldn't hear what I was saying very well.

The man grinned, and even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling.

"Then it's a deal!" He laughed. I woke up to Momo's face. The small lemur was sitting on my stomach, looking curiously at my face.

"Hey buddy," I yawned. Sokka was standing over me with an annoyed expression.

"Are you awake yet?" He asked. I got up and stretched. He then rolled up my sleeping bag and started packing my things.

"You know you talk in your sleep right?" Aang told me, he was on Appa's back, putting our things on the Bison.

"Really? What did I say?" I asked.

"You said something about being able to do something," Sokka answered as he threw my stuff up at Aang.

"Yeah…I had a dream about that guy again," I muttered to myself. Aang looked at me with a ponderous expression, but he didn't say anything. Katara suddenly ran into the barn.

"They took Harue!" She cried. I had the sudden thought of saying "I told you so," But knowing that it would be a rather rude and insensitive joke, I held back my tongue. That being said, I was worried about Harue, but sometimes my sense of humour decided to come up at awkward times.

"When did this happen?" Sokka asked. Katara told us that the earth bender was taken at midnight. "It's too late to track him then," Sokka sighed.

"We won't need to track him, the fire nation is going to arrest me for earth bending," Katara answered.

The plan was to place a rock over a ventilation shaft, and have Aang shoot a large gust of wind through one vent to the other in order to make the rock levitate. They would do this in front of fire nation troops in order to make it look like Katara was earth bending. The scene that followed this would be Katara and Sokka getting into an argument.

"Aang, did you get all that?" Katara asked. Aang was busy playing with a butterfly, but he gave a half convincing reply.

"I'll make sure he does his job," I assured the siblings. They nodded. We saw a group approaching from the trail to our right, and Sokka and Katara got into their places.

"Get out of my way pipsqueak!" Sokka cried in a forced voice. He and Katara we leaning towards each other aggressively…but their acting… The soldiers stopped and watched the argument

"How dare you call me pipsqueak you…Giant eared cretin!" Katara yelled as if she were reading from a script.

"This is going to fail," I moaned, facepalming.

The "argument" continued, getting worse and worse as it went on. I had to cover my ears in order to avoid laughing at the siblings' acting.

"You're going down!" Sokka cried.

"No, you're going down, EARTH BENDING POWERS ACTIVATE!" Katara cried. I tapped Aang's shoulder and he sent the air through the vent. The rock begun to float, and the fire bender soldiers gasped.

"That lemur…it's earth bending!" One of them cried. Momo was busy licking his arm pits from behind the rock. It actually did look like he WAS making the rock float. I nearly laughed.

"No you idiot, it's the girl!" Sokka cried. The soldiers laughed at their stupidity. Sokka grabbed his sister and whispered something in her ear. The soldiers came over and apprehended Katara, leaving us alone.

"Alright, Aang, get Appa because we are going to shadow them," Sokka explained. "We can't get too close because they might see him,"

We followed the boat that the soldiers had taken Katara too. They were headed to an artificial island where all the earth benders were kept at. This prison reminded me a lot of an oil platform. Appa flew high in order to use the low clouds as cover, and so far, it looked like it was working. Aang nervously watched the boat below us, and Sokka sensed his unease.

"She'll be fine, Aang. Katara knows what she's doing,"

"Yeah, and she's got backup," I added. He turned to us, his expression was still the same worried look, but he made Appa pull away from the boat. The sun was setting, so we decided to fly in wide circles around the platform in order to avoid detection. We didn't talk much, it was almost like we were afraid that any sound would reveal us to the enemy. Eventually, night fell, and we were able to get close to the platform. Aang cautiously disappeared into the floating prison. After a few minutes, he returned with Katara.

"Your 12 hours are up, where's Harue? We got to get out of here!" Sokka whispered to his sister.

"I can't," Katara replied. We all gave her odd looks.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We need to go!" Sokka added.

"I'm not leaving, I can't abandon these people," She told us.

We climbed off Appa and onto the platform. Sokka was rather angry with Katara's decision.

"We have to help these people," I agreed.

"She's right, we have to do something," Aang added.

"You're all crazy! We need to leave!" Sokka protested, but we all gave him hard looks. He sighed. "We should hide," We got up and ran into the complex. Aang told his Bison to leave until morning, and catch up with us. We found a nice spot to hide among some crates. We began to discuss a plan. Momo was watching our surroundings, and would warn us if any guards were coming.

"I tried talking the earth benders into fighting back," Katara told us, "but they didn't listen."

"For that, they'd need earth," Sokka remarked.

"Didn't Harue's mom say that the fire nation used coal?" I asked. Everyone looked at me. "Well…I mean, that giant black column of smoke must come from coal being burnt, and they are putting these prisoners to work in this uh…factory, so we could just steal the coal," I pointed at the large chimney at the centre of the prison. A large black column of smoke rose from it.

"Fred, you're a genius!" Sokka cried a little loudly. Katara slapped his mouth shut and we remained quiet for a few moments. We sent Momo to look around, but he came back with nothing.

Sokka came up with the real plan from there. He got Aang to close every vent in the complex, that took a rather long time, and day break was just starting. We were positioned around the one vent Aang didn't close. Just like the floating rock trick, Aang would send a gust of wind from his end and shoot the coal out at our end, into the courtyard. We were soon discovered by fire nation guards. They quickly sounded the alarm and surrounded us and the vent. The prisoners were watching, and a muscular old earth bender stepped towards us.

"Katara, stop!" He ordered. "You can't win this fight!" I noticed that Harue was standing near this guy, and I saw similar features in their faces. I guessed this was his father. The way he spoke to Katara made me think that they must've spoke the previous day.

"Listen to him child," A fire nation guard told Katara. He didn't wear a helmet, and he had a grey beard and mustache. The way he was being escorted towards us made me believe that he was the prison warden. "You're one mistake away from dying,"

His soldiers advanced, and we clustered closer together, our backs against each other's backs. We then heard a large whooshing sound coming from the vent, and soon a mountain of coal came bursting out. It knocked some of the guards away, and we dove away from the hail of coal. Aang suddenly came up the vent, covered in soot. He slapped away the filth from his suit, and soon he was good as new. When she got back up, Katara walked onto the mound of coal, and held a piece in her hand.

"Here is your chance earth benders!" She cried. "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!" No one stepped forward, they just looked at the guards nervously. We stared at the prisoners with surprised expressions.

"Ha ha ha! Foolish girl, you thought a few inspirational words and coal would be enough to change these people?" The warden laughed. "Look at their hopeless faces, their spirits were broken a long time ago!" Katara brought her hand down, her expression was one of defeat. I look at all the prisoners, and all of them couldn't meet Katara's eyes. The Warden began to walk away, when he was suddenly pummeled by a piece of coal from behind. He turned towards his assailant, as did I. It was Harue, and he was spinning three piece of coal with his bending between his fingers. The warden shot a jet of flame at the boy, but his father created a shield for his son with the coal. It didn't take long for the prisoners to start using the coal as a weapon, and soon the courtyard became a large battle field between fire benders trying to contain their earth bending captives. We joined into the fight, Sokka was cutting the ends off of spears and giving the pieces to Momo who was flying above us. I was pushed back by a fire bender who was trying to burn my face with his flames. But when he shot one of his arms forward, I grabbed it and threw him with a neck throw. One he was on the ground, I stomped on his head, knocking him out. Aang was shooting gusts of wind, tripping up the fire nation soldiers and protecting the earth benders. Suddenly, we heard a large thud and saw that Harue and his father made a hole in one of the courtyard's walls.

"Get to the ships!" The old man yelled. "We'll hold them off!"

The battle was one sided, the earth benders quickly over powered the fire nation guards and threw them over board into the sea. The earth benders stole most of the ships docket at the prison and were quickly headed home. Our group was on Appa, swimming next to Harue's boat. Katara said her good byes to the earth benders, and jumped back onto Appa. As we were flying away from the boats, I noticed something odd about her, she was touching her neck with panic…

"Are you missing something?" I asked as we flew up into the sky. She nodded and told me that her mother's necklace was gone. I suddenly had the feeling that this would lead to some rather unpleasant future events…


	5. Episode 5: The Spirit World

Appa slowly glided over the low clouds. The sky was blue and the sun was radiating a nice soft heat onto us. I sat at the rear, leaning back with my eyes closed, enjoying the breeze. Sokka was busy sharpening something, I wasn't too sure what it was. Katara was looking down at the clouds, and Aang sat on Appa's head, holding the reins.

"Those clouds look so soft," Katara dreamily sighed. "It's almost as if I could land onto them and be caught in a large cottony heap,"

"Maybe you should give it a try!" Sokka and I laughed simultaneously. We paused when we realised our synchronisation, then laughed again. Katara wasn't impressed however.

"You two are hilarious," She growled.

"I'll give it a try!" Aang cried as he jumped off Appa. Sokka and Katara looked down after him, I just sat there, laughing at the boy's enthusiasm. Soon he came back up onto the Bison's back, he was dripping wet. "Turns out clouds are made of water," The boy remarked before proceeding to dry himself with his airbending. He nearly blew Momo off the saddle, and his gust of air was enough to make Katara, Sokka and I blink a few times. We sat around silently for a few moments, then Katara pointed our attention to the ground far below.

"What is that?" She asked. We all looked down at the black cut that sliced the green earth in half.

"It looks like a scar," Sokka observed with a hit of concern.

"Forest fire maybe?" I guessed. No one answered me, we quietly flew down to get a closer look. I was right, the forest here was burnt down, not a single patch of green remained, it was all black and charred. We were all silent, and we all watched Aang as he collapsed to his knees.

"How could I let this happen?" He croaked. Katara stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You didn't let this happen, this has nothing to do with you,"

"Yes it does, it's the Avatar's job to protect nature, and I don't even know how to do that," The boy sighed.

"Stuff like this happens all the time though," I said. Everyone turned to me with shocked expressions. I coughed and cleared my throught. "Forests get burned down every day, with or without the Fire Nation, but the earth heals and always bounces back," I explained. "It doesn't make it any easier to see things like this, but at least take comfort in knowing that, as brutal as the world can be, life will keep going. We wouldn't be here if nature was so easily destroyed," I smiled at Aang. "I bet you might be able to find seeds here, I guarantee that plant life as already started to reclaim this place,"

"Still," Aang replied. "I don't know how to be an Avatar, and seeing this stuff just reminds me or how lost I am. Monk Gyatso told me that Avatar Roku would help me,"

"The Avatar before you? How are you suppost to talk to him, he died over a hundred years ago," Sokka stepped forward, moving closer to Aang.

"I don't know," The boy looked down sadly.

"Isn't there like a spirit world?" I asked. Aang turned to me. "I mean…uh…isn't the Avatar all spiritual and all that? Reincarnation and such…?" Aang got up and smiled, but then his face contorted again.

"How do I go to the spirit world?" He asked me. I had no answer to that, so I shrugged. Aang rewarded me with a defeated sigh. We stood around idly for a while, Sokka was looking around for nothing in particular, I picked up a burnt stick and started drawing in the ashes with it, making a variety of creatures and demons. Katara suddenly walked by us towards Aang.

"Hey, you ready to be cheered up?" She asked with a smile. I noticed that her hands were covered in ash, she must've been digging.

"No," Aang moped.

"I don't think you have much of a choice," I chuckled. Katara threw an acorn at Aang, and spiked him in the head.

"Ow! How is that suppost to cheer me up?" Aang rubbed the back of his head in annoyance. Sokka began to laugh.

"Cheered me up!" He giggled, and as a response, Katara threw a second acorn at him. I then started to laugh in amusement.

"There are acorns everywhere Aang, that means the forest will come back," The girl told the young Avatar, she handed him one of the seeds, and he smiled.

"Thanks," Aang looked up at her, looking a lot better than he did only a few moments ago. We suddenly heard the sounds of someone approaching us, we quickly turned towards the source of the noise and saw an old man with a walking stick approaching us.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked him, but the old man ignored him.

"I saw the flying Bison, but I couldn't believe it…are you the Avatar child?" He asked Aang. The boy nodded silently. "My village desperately needs your help!"

We followed the old guy back to his village. When we got there, the sun had begun to set, bathing the world in orange. The village was rather small, surrounded by a forest, and it looked like it was recently attacked. The man lead us to the large building at the back of the town. We entered, and I could see that this large building housed at least a dozen families. I guessed that the recent attack must've driven these people into the large building where they would be safer.

"This young boy is the Avatar!" The old man announced as he lead us inside.

"It truly is an honor to be in your presence!" A man approached us smiling warmly. He was rather tall, and had long brown hair that was tied back. Aang smiled and introduced himself to the man politely.

"So…is there something we can help you with?" Aang asked. The old man insisted that Aang could help, and his fellow villager explained to us what was happening. Apparently, every sunset, a spirit comes and attacks the village. Each night, the creature has managed to abduct people, and they were never found again. This of course, was troublesome, and to make matters worse, the winter solstice was arriving. I asked why that was a bad thing, and learned that this was the day when the spirit world merged with the real world, and if this spirit was already causing damage, then it would be much more powerful on that day. The reason why Aang would be perfect for being a make shift Ghostbuster was because he was the Avatar, the bridge between the spirit world and the real world. Katara pulled Aang towards a window, and asked him if he was ok. Sokka and I approached them, and then Aang told the girl that he knew nothing about the spirit world.

"So…can you help these people?" Katara asked.

"I have to try," Aang replied with a look of worry.

"How about you look at it this way, you've been to the spirit world in past lives, why would this life be different?" I laughed. Aang giggle as well, and smiled.

"I guess you're right," The boy grinned.

"You can do it," Katara smiled.

The time soon came for Aang to face the spirit. He was sent outside alone, and I didn't feel right leaving him outside all by himself. Sokka expressed my worries.

"We can't just let him face this on his own," He growled.

"If anyone can help us, he can," The old man assured us.

"He still shouldn't have to do this alone," Sokka sighed. We all sat at the window, watching the sun set, and the boy stand at the entrance of the village. We saw Aang spin his staff around, stick his hand out to the forest and yell for the spirit to leave the village alone, but when no answer came, he turned around and started to walk towards us. He didn't notice however the large black and white creature creeping up behind him. For its size, it was surprisingly quiet.

"Behind you!" I yelled. The boy turned around and saw the giant beast. He introduced himself, but the spirit just screamed in reply and stepped over him. It proceeded to start smashing buildings and screaming like a child having a tantrum. All I could think of when seeing this creature's rampage was:  
"Damn, that thing can move fast!"

"We need to help him!" Sokka told us, but the old man disagreed, telling him that Aang was the only one who could help.

"He's right, Aang will figure it out," Katara added. For Aang's future love interest, I thought she was being rather cold, but I held my tongue and continued to watch the spectacle. Aang was busy yelling at the spirit, trying to speak to it, but it obviously wasn't working. Eventually, Aang was hit by the creature, and Sokka decided to run out to help.

"Sokka wait!" Katara cried, but her brother was already out of reach.

"I'll get him!" I said as I chased after him. We were both outside, and Sokka threw his boomerang at the creature. It had no effect.

"Sokka, we need to get back!" I cried, but he just ran towards Aang. _You idiot!_ I thought, _You're going to get us killed!_ I grabbed his arm and started to pull him back.

"Let me go! We need to help him!" He yelled at me, but I held firm. I heard Aang yell something at us, but I couldn't hear it because a deafening roar sounded behind us. Sokka and I turned just in time to see two giant black hands grab us.

"Sokka, I'm going to punch you when this is over!" I yelled as we were pulled into the forest. There was a bright flash of light, and then I blacked out…

I was walking in an alley, heading…somewhere. I suddenly heard some giggles coming from behind. I turned around to see a man with a top hat, an expensive looking suit, a pair of shaded glasses, and a cane with a diamond on the top.

"Come here boy, I want to talk," He grinned, his teeth were unnaturally clean, almost like they were made of pearls.

"Who are you?" I asked, he shook his head disapprovingly.

"That isn't important, what is important is the decision that is ahead of you," He replied. He held out a piece of paper, it looked like a contract, but the print was so small that I couldn't read it. "I want to make a deal!"

"What kind of deal?" I asked cautiously. Half of my brain was yelling at me to walk away, that I was being stupid for even considering hearing him out, but the other half was intrigued by this stranger.

"I can grant you a wish, in this case, an adventure, just give me something in return and you can experience whatever you want to experience,"

"But…I don't have any idea what I want to experience," I stammered nervously. My mind was blank, there were so many options…

"Sign the contract, I always get it right!" He grinned. My shaking hands took the piece of paper, my brain was cursing me for being so stupid, but the illogical part of me was overjoyed with such a proposal.

"Why is this print so small?" I asked as I signed the paper.

"That's the fine print," The man giggled. When I gave him the contract, he somehow burned it with his fingers. My mind came up with an idea upon seeing the flames. The man grinned.

"Another thing…" I began. "I want to be able to..." My voice became muddled

"Then it's a deal!" The man laughed. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "In two weeks, your wish shall be granted,"

"Two weeks!? Why not now?" I asked, feeling cheated. He grinned.

"Things like this take time to set up, and not everyone wishes to go through with their contracts," He told me. "Think of this as the grace period before you are committed, if you want to back out, you can. If you stick with it, then I'll want payment!"

"What kind of payment?" I asked.

"I haven't decided yet, normally I know what I want, but for a contract this big, I'll need some time to think about it," He waved me good-bye and melted into the shadows of the alley. He was gone.

_What was that?_ I began to wonder. _Could that be why I'm here? Is this even a memory or is it just a dream, me trying to think of a reason as to why I'm here?_ My brain was racing at a thousand miles per hour. _He spoke of a contract…and payment…what could that mean?_

My body started to feel heavy. _Why am I feeling heavy? Was I floating?_ My feet touched something solid…It was a dirt trail. _How did I end up on a dirt trail?_ I remembered the spirit grabbing me and…Sokka… I huffed when I remembered what I told him.

"Can't keep him waiting them," I stood up, and felt really sore. I looked around and saw bamboo growing all around me. I thought that was quite strange, but I did my best to ignore it and followed the trail. The trail lead to the village, and as I exited the patch of bamboo sticks, I was joined with many villagers who seemed to be coming out with me.

"Fred! Sokka!" Both the voices of Katara and Aang cried. Katara ran up to us and hugged us both.

"What happened?" Sokka asked.

"You were trapped in the spirit world for 24 hours," Katara answered. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need to use the bathroom," Sokka groaned. He started to walk away but I stopped him.

"This is me keeping my promise," I smiled, then punched him in the face.

"Ow! Was that necessary?" He cried.

"No, but I think it's fair, you did get me trapped in the spirit world," I laughed. He mumbled something and left to do his business.

We later gathered in the town square, and the villagers thanked Aang for his help, and they then gave us supplies and money as payment. Katara congratulated Aang, but he looked at her with a serious expression.

"I'm leaving," He told us.

"What?" Katara gasped.

"There is a crescent island in the Fire Nation, I can contact Roku's Spirit there on the solstice tomorrow," He explained. "And after what happened to Sokka and Fred…I just can't put you guys in danger,"

"Well what are we waiting for?" I asked, picking up some of the supplies and throwing them on Appa's back. Aang started to protest, but Sokka and Katara smiled at him.

"You're not going anywhere without us," Sokka gave Aang a warm smile.

It took little convincing to get Aang to bring us with him. But soon, we were in the sky, and Appa was flying as hard as he could. The sun soon rose, and Sokka managed to guide us in the direction of the island. I looked down at the ocean…and saw a black column of smoke coming from a Fire Nation ship.

"uh guys…" I cried as I tapped Sokka's shoulder.

"Aang, we got trouble!" The water tribe boy gasped.

A catapult was raised onto the ship, and soon, a burning rock was launched towards us.

"Incoming!" I yelled as I closed my eyes and held on tight to Appa's saddle. I felt a wave of heat pass near us as Appa bolted to the left. Momo ran onto my lap and too cover beneath my hunched over body. "This is crazy! Who are they!?" I yelled.

"That must be Prince Zuko, the fire lord's son," Katara growled. Memories of the character flooded my head, and I groaned. _We are being chased by one of the most human and complicated characters in this place, and what's worse, I can't say anything about it!_ Another rock was launched, and Appa managed to dodge that one as well.

"Guy's we have a problem!" Aang called from the front. We turned around and saw a blockade of ships.

"This just gets better and better," I muttered. "Looks like we need to run this blockade,"

"I think I can go north to avoid it," Aang protested, but Katara reminded him of the deadline we had. Appa continued forward, and I could see that the ships were getting ready to fire. Soon, a wall of fireballs came up from the ships, and we all screamed unanimously. Appa began to weave himself between the burning rocks, and every time I felt a heat wave, I thought we were hit. Behind us, I saw that one of the projectiles had smashed into Zuko's boat. Aang pulled up and brought us above the clouds, thinking that the catapults could not get us at this altitude. He was very wrong. Another barrage of flame came from the clouds, and these were harder to dodge. We flew through a few explosions, and flames singed Appa's fur. We started slapping the flames off the big Bison, but Sokka was suddenly knocked off by a nearby explosion. We dove after him and managed to get below him. Katara and I pulled him onto Appa's back as we started to rise up into the air again. A fire ball was launched from one last ship, and headed straight for us, but Aang jumped forwards and managed to kick it, causing it to explode into a nice circle around us. We passed the blockade, and Aang started to cheer.

"We made it!" He cried, punching his fist into the air.

"I think the bigger miracle is that we're in one piece," I gasped. I have been holding my breath for quite some time. We looked back at the blockade, the ships made no attempt to follow us. Zuko's boat however, was still moving straight towards the blockade. It looked badly damaged, and I hoped that that would slow it down. We flew in silence for a good long moment, I decided to break the silence.

"I think I know how I got here," I said. Instantly, the attention of my companions snapped to me.

"That's great! This means that you have a chance at going home!" Katara clapped happily.

"Actually…It might be a bit more complicated than that…" I nervously laughed. I told them about the dream I had when the black and white spirit took me, about the man in the alley, they contract he made me sign, and how he wanted a payment for his service.

"So what are you saying?" Aang asked. "You're stuck here until your deal is complete?"

"It looks like it," I sighed. "To be honest with you, I don't know what possessed me to sign that piece of paper,"

"Well next time, you'll read the fine print, won't you?" Sokka grinned. I shot him a glare, but he didn't stop smiling.

"I think the deal was to live an adventure," I said after a short silence.

"Well you've had quite the adventure already," Katara observed. "I can only imagine how much of a shock all this was when you first arrived here,"

"No, it was great being alone on top of a mountain with no way down and surrounded by skeletons," I joked. Sokka was the only one to laugh.

"Well, if we see a man like the one you described, well ask him to send you back!" Aang promised. I smiled with gratitude and thanked them for having taken me into their little group.

"Don't sweat it, we're all family here," Sokka patted my shoulder.

We continued to fly for hours, I tried listening to music, but I almost dropped my Ipod down into the ocean below, so I decided to keep it in my pocket. The sun began to set, and Appa was obviously exhausted. I was beginning to doubt that we'd make it to the island, but Aang shattered those thoughts when he exclaimed happily that we have made it to our destination. The Crescent Island was a pretty patch of rock, and the setting sun was quite fitting considering that this was a fire bender temple. There was a volcano on the island, and next to it was the temple. We landed a small ways away from the building in order to hide Appa. We got off the exhausted Bison, and stretched in order to wake up our tired bodies.

"You did it Appa, nice flying!" Aang hugged his furry friend. Appa rolled onto his side with a huge sigh.

"You must be tired," Katara giggled as she scratched the beast's stomach.

"Nope, I'm good! I'm ready to fight some fire benders!" Sokka exclaimed happily. Katara rolled her eyes.

"Let's go guys, we don't want to keep Aang's ghost friend waiting," I reminded them of our mission, and we started to head to the temple. As we walked towards the temple, we could clearly feel the volcano's heat. I never thought I'd ever be so close to molten rock, yet here I was, walking on a stone bridge that passed over the flow of the deadly molten earth.

"I don't see any guards," Sokka observed as we arrived at the entrance.

"Maybe the temple was abandoned when Roku died," Katara suggested.

"That's just wishful thinking, keep your eyes peeled, I'd rather not turn into a roasted chicken by the time this is over," I whispered.

"Maybe, but we have to hurry, it's almost sundown!" Aang said as he ran towards the temple's large doors. Katara and Sokka followed, and I gave a sigh before running after them. Momo flew close behind us. The temple was lit with orange lanterns. The hallways were completely empty, making everything feel really odd. I half expected to find someone around every corner, but every time we didn't find anything, my paranoia grew.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," I whispered through clenched teeth.

"Me neither," Katara agreed. We continued down more halls until we reached a large square room with beveled corners.

"I think I heard something," Sokka said as he turned around. Behind us was a group of fire bending monks, all dressed in red robes.

"We are the fire sages, guardians of the temple," The sage at the front of the group growled.

"And you've all done a terrific job at keeping us out," I nervously joked. Katara shot me a look that said "This isn't the time,"

"That's great! I am the Avatar!" Aang smiled, stepping forward.

"We know," Answered the monk with venom. He moved his hands, and shot fire balls at us. Aang was quick and deflected the three burning balls. He turned towards us. "I'll hold them off! Run!"

"Don't have to tell us twice!" I cried as I turned around and headed down a hallway. Sokka and Katara followed close behind. I heard the monks gasp behind us, but I didn't turn to see what Aang was doing. We just kept running through the maze of halls. Aang suddenly appeared in front of us, he came from a corridor that linked to ours. He ordered us to follow him.

"Do you know where you are going?" Asked Sokka.

"Nope!" Aang answered as he turned a corner. He suddenly reappeared, ordering us to turn around.

"Come back!" A voice cried from behind us. This voice wasn't an angry voice, but a desperate one. I stopped running and turned to see a fire monk. "I don't want to hurt you," He told me.

"Thank god, so you'll help us?" I asked.

He nodded. "We need to find your friends first," I looked around and saw that my group had continued to run when I stopped following them. I followed the monk down a few halls, and we soon found my friends trapped in a dead end.

"Guys, he's cool!" I said smiling.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked. "These monks are trying to kill us!"

"No! I don't want to fight!" The monk protested. "I know why you are here, and I want to help," He turned a nearby lamp and revealed a small hole behind it. He placed his hand over it and shot a flame inside. A secret passage opened up in the wall, and he ushered us inside. Once we were inside the passage, he closed the door behind us. We began to follow the passage, and I guessed that it must've passed near or through the volcano, because there was a lot of lava in small pools all over the place. The monk explained how this island was once Avatar Roku's home, and how he formed these passaged when he was alive. The monk spoke about his family line, how he knew that Aang was coming, and why the monks betrayed the Avatar. And when Roku died, the next Avatar didn't appear, that was because Aang was trapped in a big ball of ice under the sea for one hundred years. When fire lord Sozin begun the war, he forced the monks to follow him.

We eventually made it to the sanctuary, and we found ourselves in front of a large door. It reminded me of the door I saw in the air bender temple.

"No! They sealed the doors!" The monk gasped.

"Can't you just open it with fire bending?" Katara asked, the monk shook his head sadly.

"We need five simultaneous fire blasts to open this door, I can only produce up to two alone," The monk explained.

"I have an idea!" Sokka cried triumphantly. He took a lamp, then poured the oil into five sacks. He explained to us that these were small bombs, and that if Shyu, the fire monk, were to light them all, we'd have our five fire blasts. We placed the make-shift bombs into the mouths of the dragons that lined the door, and took cover.

"You ready Aang?" Katara asked. The boy nodded and got ready to run. Shyu lit the bombs, and soon they exploded. When the smoke cleared, we saw that the doors were still locked.

"I don't get it, it looked just as strong as any fire bending I've ever seen…" Sokka sighed, poking at the scorch marks on the doors. Katara smiled.

"Sokka, you're a genius!" She cried.

"Wait how? His plan didn't work," Aang replied.

"I get it," I smiled, stepping forward. "We can trick the monks into thinking you're in there,"

"And get THEM to open the door for you!" Katara finished. We all took cover behind the pillars, and sent Momo inside the room through one of the pipes. Shyu got the other monks to come, and showed them the scorch marks. When the saw Momo's shadow pocking out from beneath the doors, the monks were infuriated and blasted the door with flames. When the doors open, the monks quickly realised that Aang was not inside. Katara and Sokka ran out from their hiding spots and attacked the monks, wrestling them to the ground.

"Now's your chance Aang!" Shyu cried. But Aang didn't run to the doors. I was still behind my pillar, I didn't move because I knew something went wrong, and I was going to try to fix it.

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara cried. It was Zuko who pulled Aang from behind his pillar.

"The Avatar is coming with me!" He yelled. I was glad that the prince was so focused on Aang, it gave me enough time to work my way towards him.

"Actually," I said. Zuko turned in surprise, but I hit him with a solid punch. His grip loosened on Aang, and the boy ran into the Sanctuary of the temple. As soon as he made it through, the doors slammed shut, and a blue light shined. I didn't know what happened, but I wasn't given time to wonder. Zuko grabbed me, and twisted my arms to my back.

"You'll pay for this," He growled into my ear.

"Take it easy buddy, we can talk this out," I gasped as he tightened his grip. He dragged me to the monks who tied me up on a pillar along with Katara and Sokka.

"Well this is certainly going well," I laughed.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of this," Katara assured me.

"I have an itch on my back, Katara, do you think you can reach it?" Sokka gasped as he tried to move his back against the pillar. Katara rolled her eyes.

"So how long do you think we'll be tied up like this?" I asked. Katara shrugged. Sokka cried in triumph as he managed to scratch his itch. Zuko and the monks were busy trying to open the door, but no matter how much fire they blasted into the dragon mouths, the doors wouldn't budge.

"Why did you help the Avatar!?" Zuko yelled, turning to face Shyu.

"Because it is my duty as a fire sage," He answered. We heard clapping coming from the far side of the room. We all turned to see Commander Zhao.

"What a moving and heart felt performance!" He laughed. "I'm sure the Fire Lord will understand when you explain this betrayal,"

"Commander Zhao," One of the monks bowed. Zhao paid no attention to the monk.

"It was a noble effort, but your little smoke screen didn't work, Prince Zuko" The young prince just glared at Zhao. "Two traitors in one day…the Fire Lord will be pleased,"

"You're too late Zhao!" Zuko yelled. "The Avatar is inside and the doors are sealed!"

"It doesn't matter, he has to come out eventually," Sokka and Katara shared worried glances at one another.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll find a way to save us all, you know, being the Avatar and all that," I smiled.

"You are surprisingly optimistic," Katara remarked.

"I DID manage to punch a fire bender earlier," I laughed.

We heard the doors begin to open, and the fire benders took their positions in front of the doors. When the doors open, a torrent of flame burst out of the room and swept the fire benders off their feet. A small flame burnt the chains that bound us to the pillar and we were free. I looked into the room that Aang was in, but didn't see him. Instead I saw an old man with glowing blue eyes. It was Roku, and he was kicking ass!

"Quickly!" Shyu cried as he approached us. "Avatar Roku is going to destroy this place, we must run!"

"Not without Aang!" Katara replied.

"And how to you know he's going to destroy this place?" I asked. I turned back to Roku who was busy blasting the walls and floors. Lava came up from holes in the ground. "Guess I have my answer," I muttered. I turned back to face Shyu, but the monk was gone. I turned back to look at Roku, who had stopped blowing stuff up. Suddenly, he glowed, and when the glow died down, Aang was there looking rather tired. Sokka and Katara ran over to him and helped him on his feet.

"We got to go," Sokka said. We ran for the stairs, but we were blocked by our only route being flooded with lava. We turned to face a hole in the wall. The drop was rather long, but it was our only option.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" I cried as an explosion sounded behind us. I pushed my companions out the hole and jumped down after them. Thank god Momo and Appa came when we did, because we would've become grease stains on the rocks below. The Bison flew away from the Island, and soon, night fells. The moon bathed us in a blue light, and I somehow felt refreshed by its glow. We didn't say anything, I think it's because we were all happy to be alive. We simply flew in silence, heading off into the night sky.


	6. Episode 6: Thoughts and Memories

**Author's note: I've decided to skip a few episodes as I saw them as being filler rather than story driven episodes. I will do a quick recap, as they DID happen in the Avatar timeline, but episodes like these can be expected to be skipped for the most part. I'm doing this in order to get things moving at a quicker rate.**

The past week following the events on the island was rather hectic. The day after we were at the island, Aang told us that we had until the summer to defeat fire lord Ozai because a comet was coming. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but this comet would grant all fire benders tremendous power, and the fire lord would use it to win the war. Katara decided to start Aang's water bending lessons in order to speed up his mastering of the elements by giving him her knowledge. One thing lead to another and we ended up in town in desperate need of supplies. Katara stole a water bending scroll from some pirates in order to teach herself some water bending techniques. Zuko found us (which isn't much of a surprise) and tried to team up with the pirates in order to capture us. Sokka managed to get a fight going between the fire benders and pirates, and we were able to get away. Two days after that, we ran into a rag tag army of "rebels" lead by a good looking dude named Jet. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but he turned out to be a misguided and angry victim of the war. He blamed the people of the fire nation and not the generals and leaders for the misery in the world and attempted to drown a town because of his delusions. Sokka and I learned of his plan and managed to warn the town of the flood and got everyone out on time.

After that, we crossed a gorge and Aang settled a dispute between two tribes, and let me tell you, I had some good laughs during that particular pilgrimage. It was like looking at Sokka and Katara if they had their own tribes!

Yesterday, Sokka tried to make some money by working for some old fisher, but ended up being caught in a storm. Aang managed to save them, of course, and we got a bit of money out of it, so we were well supplied at the time.

We eventually stopped at some old ruins, Sokka was feeling sick. He must've caught this from the storm. I helped Aang make a fire while Katara tended to her brother. She took a moist rag to his forehead.

"This should help with your fever," She told him. Sokka smiled gleefully.

"You know what I like about Appa the most?" He giggled. When no one answered him, his grin widened. "I like his sense of humor!"

"That's nice, I'll let him know," Katara assured her brother in a soothing voice. Appa yawned and this caused Sokka to burst out laughing.

"My god, it's like he smoked a join," I laughed.

"What's a joint?" Aang asked.

"Just a drug, it's not important right now," I waved his question away. "We need to figure out how to get him back on his feet," We approached Katara and asked about her brother. He was shaking violently, and his features would go from a terrified expression to a gleeful one.

"You'll be pleased to know that Aang found a map," I said, Aang pulled out the paper and showed it to Katara.

"There is an Herbalist nearby, she might be able to make a cure for Sokka," He said.

"Sokka can't travel, I'm sure if we let him rest, he'll be better by tomorrow," Katara protested, she suddenly began to cough.

"Not you too," Aang moaned.

"I'm fi-" Katara had another coughing fit.

"Sure you are *cough*-tara" I joked. She glared at me.

"In a few hours, you'll be just a delirious as Sokka!" Aang exclaimed. "I'm going to find some medicine, Fred, you keep an eye on them," He then walked off in the direction of the herbalist.

"Oh great, leave me with the two sick people," I sighed. I turned to face Katara who didn't look too happy, and Sokka who was making loud sounds and moving his arms as if he were fighting someone. "You two should move a little closer to the fire," I said. Appa started budging a little closer, pushing the siblings towards the heat of the flames.

"Ha ha! Appa that tickles!" Sokka laughed.

"Can I have some water?" Katara asked. I handed her a gourd and she drank a sip.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Just a dry throat," She replied. She coughed a little in my direction, I leapt back.

"Hey, don't give me what you have!" I snapped. She apologized. We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the thunder in the distance. "Mind if I take a look at that water bending scroll?" I asked. She gave me a quizzical look.

"Why? You can't bend," She said.

"I'm still curious about the form and all that," I replied. She handed me the scroll and I opened it up. It was nothing but drawings of the various poses in a technique. It showed three techniques. "How do you follow a bunch of still illustrations?" I asked.

"It's easy, you just move from one pose to the other," She laughed. We were just doing small talk, waiting for Aang to get back.

"Hey Fred, I got a secret to tell you," Sokka eventually said. I asked him what it was. "I think that maybe, I might be an earth bender!" He giggled.

"How can you be an earth bender if you were born in the southern water tribe?" I asked him.

"Because I can move rocks!" He kicked a nearby pebble. "See? I move it!"

"I can do that too, bro," I laughed.

"I thought you weren't a bender…you are a liar!" Sokka gasped. I sighed and agreed with him. He began shooting oddly formed insults at me, but his banter quickly stopped after a few minutes. Katara started getting chills. I got them both some blankets, and soon Sokka started asking for water. I realised that the last of our water I gave to Katara, so I told them that I'd be back with some. I told Momo to keep an eye on them and to come get me if anything happened. I left the ruins and started walking in no particular direction, looking for a lake or river. The accusation that Sokka shot at me came back into my mind.

"Why can't I shake the feeling that I can bend?" I asked myself. My thoughts flew back to the contract that I supposedly signed. "Could that have something to do with it?" I wondered. I walked for a good 10 minutes before finding a small stream. I crouched down, and started filling the gourd with the water. After I filled it up, I got up and started to walk away. I suddenly stopped and turned back towards the stream.

"Don't be stupid, Katara and Sokka need you right now," I muttered, and headed off. I made it back to our hiding spot and offered the water to Sokka, who greedily drank.

"Where is Aang?" Katara asked me.

"I don't know," I answered. "Get some sleep, he'll be here soon."

Katara and Sokka eventually fell asleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I started thinking about the guy with the top hat. Who was he? Why did he strike a deal with me? What exactly did he do to get me here? The questions swirled around inside my head, and soon I drifted off to sleep.

I had the same dream that night. They alley, the man, and the contract. It all played out exactly the same way.

"One more thing," I said. I opened my mouth and started speaking, but the man shushed me.

"I know exactly what you're going to ask, and the answer is yes, I'll allow you to do so," He grinned. I shook his hand and he exclaimed "It's a deal!"

Then my dream morphed to one of my friends from home.

"You idiot!" He yelled. "I warned you not to make deals with men in top hats!" He started to pace around, looking frustrated. "Well now it's too late. Listen, you must never use your knowledge, you hear me? It could change things and have disastrous effects! Believe me, I should know! If you can forget, then forget!"

"I already have that covered," I replied. He stopped then smiled.

"That's good, at least you won't be able to screw anything up any more than they are now,"

I woke up with a frog being shoved into my mouth. I quickly spat it out.

"What gives?" I asked. It was Aang who had shoved the small amphibian in my mouth.

"I thought you were sick too," He yawned. He moved over towards Appa, and flopped onto the Bison's tail.

"Aang! How was your trip? Did you make new friends?" Sokka asked. Aang sighed.

"No…I don't think so,"

"Aang…are you ok?" I asked, he didn't reply, he just turned away and closed his eyes.

"MMM! This is Tahsty!" Sokka cried with his mouth full. The frog started moving, and when he realised what it was, he spat it out in disgust. Katara did the same.

"Looks like you guys are better, at least," I smiled. "Sleep well?" I asked.

"I had the weirdest dream," Sokka began.

"Don't want to hear it," I interrupted.


	7. Episode 7: Bato of the Water Tribe

When Aang woke up, we continued on our journey to the North Pole. On our way, we bumped into a town that was obsessed with a fortune teller called Aunt Wu. Katara and Aang were both enthusiastic about seeing this woman, but Sokka and I were skeptical. One day, this woman predicted that the town's local volcano was not about to erupt, and this prediction turned out to be false. Aang managed to save the town, and since that, Katara has been acting a little weird.

"Katara," I said in a teasing tone, "I couldn't help but notice how much you've been watching Aang since last night,"

Her face turned a bright red and she glared at me. "I am NOT!" She snapped in a hushed tone.

"Did Aunt Wu make a prediction?" I giggled.

"She did not! She's just a fortune teller, she's not right about the future," Katara stammered.

"Did she say something about a certain hero?" I continued. I was rewarded by a slap.

"Shut up and stop acting like a child!" She fumed.

"Where's the fun in life if you can't let your inner child out!" I laughed while holding my sore cheek. She stormed off into the direction that Aang and Sokka went. I followed close behind. When we found the two boys, they were moving twigs around and looking for something.

"Did someone loose something?" Katara asked.

"No, we found something!" Aang answered.

"What did you find?" I asked. Aang told me that he found a water tribe knife. Sokka called us over.

"There was a battle," He told us, pointing at scorch marks on trees and the slash marks in the bark of other trunks. "Water tribe warriors ambushed some fire benders and drove them down this hill," We followed him down the hill and out of the forest. We ended up at a beach.

"What happened next?" Aang asked excitedly.

"I don't know, the trail ends here," Sokka sighed, looking out into the distance.

"Wait look!" Katara cried, she was pointing at a boat. Katara and Sokka ran to it. Aang and I followed. "Is it dad's?" The girl asked.

"No, but It's from his fleet, dad was here," Sokka smiled.

"This is quite the coincidence," I said.

"You're telling us, the last time we saw our father was over two years ago," Sokka told me.

We camped near the boat that night; I was just about to sleep when Sokka stood up.

"Who's there!?" He yelled. A bandaged man stepped into the light of the fire. He had water tribe clothing on.

"Sokka?" He asked.

"Bato?"

"Who?" Aang asked as he woke up. Katara recognised the man just like her brother. They ran over to embrace him.

"Sokka, Katara! It's so good to see you!" Bato laughed.

"Hi, I'm Aang!" The Avatar introduced himself, but Bato was too busy with the siblings.

"Where's dad? Is he here?" Katara asked.

"No, the men should be in the eastern earth kingdom by now." He felt the cold breeze and shivered. "Come, this is no place for a reunion, let's get inside," He pulled Sokka and Katara with him, and gestured at Aang and I to follow. Bato lead us to an Abbey, and told us that, when he was wounded, Sokka and Katara's father dragged him there. The sisters cared for him ever since, giving them a nice distraction from making perfumes all day. He introduced us to the women and they welcomed us with open arms. We were lead to Bato's room, and it looked just like a water tribe home. Sokka and Katara were in complete aw, but Aang was not entirely comfortable with the décor. Being an Air Nomad, Aang was a vegetarian and didn't believe in killing animals. Momo was nervous too, and stayed on the young Avatar's shoulders. Bato served us some stewed sea prunes, which were not exactly…good. Aang and I sat this meal out, and we listened as Sokka and Katara asked Bato about old stories of their father. Aang kept trying to join in, but he was constantly pushed out of the bubble between the old friends.

"Aang, this is a reunion for them, just leave them for a moment," I smiled. "I feel just as out of place as you do," Aang remained silent, and looked at the floor. The night droned on, and Aang and I were getting quite bored. Eventually Bato spoke of a message that would be arriving for him in order for him to meet up with Sokka and Katara's father, and he invited the two along. This piqued Aang's curiosity. I suddenly realised what was going on.

"Katara! Wouldn't that be great!?" Sokka exclaimed.

"I really do want to see dad," Katara agreed. Each word looked like it was physically hurting Aang, and soon he got up to leave. Quickly I got up and chased after him.

"Wait, where are you goin?" Bato asked.

"I uh, need to go to the bathroom," I quickly answered as I rushed off.

I followed Aang to Bato's boat. He was sitting on it, with his head on his knees.

"Aang, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"They're going to leave us," He replied. I laughed.

"We've been through too much together for them to just leave us," I said. "I bet you, as much as they want to see their father, they'll stick with you, getting you to the North Pole is too important,"

"You heard them," Aang nearly cried. "They'd rather see their father," We heard a squawk from up the beach, and a man on a giant bird approached us.

"I'm looking for Bato of the water tribe," He told us.

"We know him" I answered. He handed me a letter telling me to give it to him. I opened it, and read what was on it.

"What is it?" Aang asked nervously.

"It's Bato's letter," I answered. "It's the render-vous point where Sokka and Katara's father will be," Aang froze when he heard this, his eyes were glued to the letter. "Don't even think about it," I warned. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound escaped his lips. "How about this? I'll hold on to this until we can confirm that they won't leave us, sounds good?"

"I guess," Aang groaned. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then I told him that we should head back. We made it back to Bato and the siblings, Aang seemed quite nervous.

"Hey, sorry we left for so long," Aang grinned widely.

"We didn't notice," Katara laughed.

"That's fine, I needed fresh air anyway," I replied. The letter in my pocket felt heavy, but I promised not to show it to Bato until Aang knew that Katara and Sokka weren't going to leave us.

The next day, Bato took us out to the beach and told us about his boat. He got if from his father who built it. Aang hid the tracks that the man on the bird left, and I shot an angry glare at him.

"Is this the boat your father took you Ice Dodging in?" Sokka asked. Bato nodded and pointed at old scratches on the hull. He asked Sokka about his time when he ice dodged, but then realised that Sokka never went.

"What's ice dodging?" Aang asked.

"It's a rite of passage, when a boy turns 14…" He paused, then smiled. "You know what? You're about to find out," He placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder.

We were all on Bato's boat, and he told us that this rite of passage was a test of courage, trust and leadership. Seeing as we didn't have ice to dodge, we were going straight for a rock field. Bato gave Sokka control of his boat, and told him that he was to call the shots. Katara was to control the sails, her position was courage. Aang was to control the jib, ironically, his position was trust. Bato looked at me oddly, and then told me to sit with him at the head of the boat.

"I kind of regret coming along for this," I nervously laughed.

"Don't worry they'll do fine!" Bato laughed at my unease, after having flaming boulders launched at me, being trapped in a collapsing temple and saving a town from drowning, I was afraid of a little boat ride.

"Aang! Ease up on the jib, Katara, steady!" Ordered Sokka in a determined voice. We turned a little and were soon headed for rocks. Sokka barked out more orders, and our boat moved away from the rocks and weaved its self between the obstacles. More than a few tense moments came up as the boat came dangerously close to smashing itself, but Sokka constantly kept us out of harm's way. Eventually, we were headed towards a wall of rock, with no way through.

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself, we should stop now," Bato said, sounding a little like me.

"We can make it!" Sokka smiled. "Aang, get some air into those sails, and Katara, bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks!" They did as they were told, and soon our boat began to rise. Sokka's face became worried as we approached the obstacle, and as we passed over, we heard the rocks rubbing up against the bottom of the boat. But we made it through, and the boat continued to float. We all shared some relieved sighs and headed back to shore.

We got off onto the beach and Bato told us to wait for a few moments. He came back with a small cup, and inside was a black paste.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks!" Bato said warmly as he rubbed his fingers into a black paste. He stepped close to Sokka. "Sokka, the mark of the wise!" He drew a symbol on the boy's forehead, it was a curved line with a dot beneath it. He turned to Katara. "For Katara, the mark of the brave, your courage inspires us!" He drew another symbol on her head, this one was a moon. He finally stepped up to Aang. "For you, the mark of the trusted, you are now a member of the water tribe," The boy shot a nervous glance at me as Bato drew a curved line on his head. I shook my head slightly, telling him to just keep his mouth shut for a little bit.

"I can't," Aang sighed. I facepalmed.

"Of course you can!" Katara laughed. Aang sadly removed the paste from his face. He backed up.

"I have something to confess," He sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked. I stepped foreward.

"We received the map to your father last night," I said, taking out the neatly folded piece of paper from my pocket. I handed it to Bato. "We were going to tell you, but-"

"You had this the whole time!?" Sokka cried in anger. Aang looked down, I just stared at him stupidly. "You two can leave on your own," He started to storm off.

"Sokka, I think you-" Bato began, but he sharply turned to his sister.

"You coming?" He asked with venom. She turned to look at me, then Aang. She had a mix of emotions in her face, then she closed her eyes and nodded. She followed her brother, and Bato accompanied them.

We found ourselves back at the Abbey. Aang was sitting on Appa's head, looking like he just had his world destroyed. I leaned on the Bison, watching the siblings pack their bags getting ready to leave. Katara approached us with a kind expression.

"Good luck," She told us. She then addressed me. "I hope you find your way home,"

"Was a good time we had," I smiled. She waved good bye, then headed out of the abbey with Bato and Sokka. One of the sisters approached us, with a disapproving look on her face.

"You should leave," She said. I climbed onto Appa's back, and Aang pulled on the reigns. The large beast walked out of the abbey slowly.

"I'm an idiot," Aang sighed, looking at Momo who had landed on one of Appa's horns.

"We both are," I agreed. We made our way back to the beach, we had to stop in order to tighten the straps on Appa's saddle. Suddenly, one of the sisters approached us with a look of desperation.

"Avatar! You must leave quickly!" She cried.

"What's wrong?" I asked sensing the panic in her voice.

"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you!" She said pointing at Aang. She told us about a woman, a monster and a certain banished prince. She told us that the creature was using a blue necklace to track us.

"You don't think…" I started, my mind going back to the day we freed the earth benders.

"Katara! She's in danger!" Aang cried. He took out his glider and flew off.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" I cried, I grabbed Appa's reigns and cried Yip yip! The bison took off, but Aang was already at the abbey by the time we were over the trees. "Come on Appa, he'll need our help!" The Bison sped up, and soon we landed in the abbey. Inside, Aang was busy fighting Zukko and a large furry creature that looked like a giant eye-less badger with the nose of a starfish mole. Katara and Sokka were on the ground, both looked paralyzed. I leapt off Appa as he charged the monster, I ran to the siblings.

"Hey get up you two!" I said, but they couldn't move. Some of the sisters came over and helped me to drag them to safety. "I'm going to go help Aang," I told them. I reached into Sokka's pack and pulled out his club. "Hope you don't mind me using this," I didn't stay long enough to hear his reply. I ran off into the centre of the abbey. Aang and Zuko were busy fighting while the woman on the creature was busy with Appa. Appa gave a strong head-butt to the best, sending the woman flying into the air. She landed and quickly got on her feet.

"Hey, you!" I cried as I ran towards her. She spun around and cracked me over the head with a whip. The pain I felt was tremendous, it was like my ear drums popped. I dropped my weapon and grabbed my head, groaning in pain. I fell over, cradling my aching head. Around me the battle continued. Aang was running from both Zuko and that woman's pet. Appa started shooting strong gusts of wind at the creature in order to take some of the pressure off Aang, and it worked. The creature advanced towards the Bison, growling and drooling all over the place. When I got back up, most of the abbey had been demolished by Appa. Aang was busy fighting Zuko around a well, both moving with deadly precision. It was almost like a dance, but I had no time to admire their skill. My mind was racing. _What do I do? I feel so useless!_ I picked up the club I dropped and looked around for that woman. She was back on her pet, making it hit Appa with quick tongue lashes. Appa was beginning to move slowly, than he collapsed. _Great, it paralyzes people with its tongue._ I thought. The large monster then turned it's attention towards Aang. I turned around when I heard the sound of pots being dropped. The sisters were busy pouring the perfume they had made onto the floor. Sokka was helping, and Katara was moving her arms, bending the liquid. The poison that had them paralyzed must've warn off I thought to myself. A shadow moved over me, and the overwhelming aroma of perfumed invaded my nostrils. The giant wave that Katara had produced moved over me, towards Aang. He was busy dodging tongue lashed and Zuko's flames, he was cornered. The wave hit both Zuko and the creature, and the beast started going berserk. It was lashing its tongue everywhere, hitting Zuko, its master. I realised that this thing saw through smell, and the perfumed must've been an overload to its senses. Suddenly the beast headed straight for me, lashing its tongue. I raised my hands in defence but I didn't feel anything hit me. I looked up and saw that some of the perfume that was on the ground had formed up into ice and caught the tongue, saving me from its paralyzing sting. The monster smashed the ice and ran off, leaving the abbey.

We left as soon as Appa was able to move. The sisters wished us luck on our adventure, and Bato promised to tell Sokka and Katara's father that he would explain why they were not with him. Once we were alone, I couldn't help but notice how my companions were staring at me.

"Thanks," I said to break their awkward gazes. "You stopped that thing from getting me," I said smiling at Katara.

"I didn't," She answered. I blinked in surprise.

"Then it was Aang, doesn't matter who did it, I'm grateful,"

"I didn't save you either," Aang said. All my thoughts stopped for a moment.

"Wait…what are you saying?" I asked.

"You were the one who did that," Katara told me.

"I can water bend?" I asked stupidly. I looked down at my hands. "I can water bend!?" I cried in desperation and disappointment.

"Wow, calm down, we were wondering why you didn't tell us," Aang told me.

"Why can't I do something useful, like earth bending?" I cried. Everyone stared at me with raised eyebrows, Katara didn't seem exactly pleased with my comment. "Sorry…What I meant to say was, I think I might have an answer as to why I can bend," I slowly said. My thoughts went back to the contract.

"Something to do with that deal that brought you here?" Sokka asked.

"Yes…Like I said, where I come from, bending doesn't exist, so the only explanation is that I was given this ability when I came here," I took a deep breath. "I guess that makes me a water bender, so if it isn't any trouble…could I learn too?" I asked looking at Katara and Aang.

"I don't see why not," Aang grinned. "Congratulations on your wish coming true!"

I laughed. Aang turned his attention to Katara.

"I want to thank you for not leaving us," Aang bowed. "I thought you wanted to see your dad,"

"We do, we really do, but getting you to the North Pole is more important, besides, we're family now," Sokka smiled.

"I hope I'm part of this family," I giggled. Sokka shot me a grin and nodded.

"I wish I had something to give you as thanks," Aang said, scratching his chin.

"You don't need to," Katara smiled.

"Like a trinket," Aang continued. "Like…THIS NECKLACE!" Aang pulled out Katara's necklace, the one she lost.

"My mother's necklace!" The girl gasped. "Where did you get it?"

"Well, a certain banished prince asked me to get it to you," Aang grinned. He must've snatched it from Zuko in their fight.

"Aw, how sweet," Katara laughed. "Next time you see him, give him a kiss for me would you?" She leaned over to Aang and kissed his cheek. His faced turned into a bright red.

"Keep that up, and you might get to first base!" I cheered. Everyone turned to me with quizzical looks. "God damn it, don't you people understand any of my jokes?" I cried.


	8. Episode 8: Jeong Jeong

We found ourselves on a path In the middle of the woods. Everyone was tired of flying (well, everyone except Aang) so we decided to stroll for a short bit. The sun was setting, and the heavy moisture in the air allowed the light to bathe everything in a warm orange glow. We eventually found a billboard at an intersection in the trail. Momo flew on top of it in order to get a better view of the trail.

"This should give us a good idea of what's around here," Katara told us as she stepped up to the billboard. Sokka was looking into his rations, which of course, were empty.

"See if you can find a menu, I'm starving," He sighed as he closed his empty bag.

"I bet we'll find something to eat here!" Aang cried as he pointed at a picture on the billboard. The text was Chinese…or something like that, point is, I couldn't read it.

"What does it say?" I asked looking over his shoulder.

"The Fire Day's festival!" Aang answered. "Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians…This would be a great place for me to study some real fire benders!" Aang nearly cheered.

"You might want to rethink that…look at this," Sokka called us over to the other side of the Billboard. On it was a collection of wanted posters. One featured an awkward looking man, another was what appeared to be some sort of bandit with a blue mask (whom I realised was Zuko's alter ego: The Blue Spirit) and finally, a picture of Aang.

"This is bad," Sokka frowned as he read the text on the poster.

"We should keep moving," Katara suggested, I nodded, but Aang refused to leave.

"I have to learn fire bending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close,"

"Well, the Fire Nation isn't exactly keen on talking things out with us," I thought. Katara looked down at her feet, considering our options.

"I guess we could go…" She muttered.

"What!? You want to go into a Fire Nation town when they're all fired up with their…fire?" Sokka paused on the last word.

"We'll wear disguises," Katara smiled, a plan forming in her head. Aang started to silently cheer, and something told me he wanted to do other things than learn how to fire bend. "If it looks like there is going to be trouble, we'll leave,"

"Yeah…because we always leave before we get into some trouble," Sokka sarcastically replied. I laughed as I followed Katara and Aang towards Appa. We pulled Appa along until we made it to a hill that was overlooking a nearby village. Aang told Appa and Momo to stay hidden in the woods while we were gone, and the two animals didn't object. The sun had almost disappeared beneath the horizon, making the edges of the sky pink, but the centre a dark blue. Stars were also beginning to shine. I was given a cloak in order to hide myself, it did a decent job of hiding my face. Sokka and Katara also had similar cloaks, but Aang lacked one, instead he used the top of his jumpsuit as a hood. It looked quite silly. Headed for the village, we could see fireworks being shot up into the sky and lights dancing inside the village. We entered without a hitch, and the inside looked like one of those Chinese festivals I saw on tv. There were the "centipede" dragons (that's what I called that kind of costume) running around, chasing kids and moving fluidly as the people beneath the cloth coordinated flawlessly. Children were running around with sparkling candles, laughing. The stands were bustling with activity as the inhabitants of the town bought souvenirs and other trinkets. Most of the villagers were wearing masks, so in order to blend in with more ease, we purchased some masks from a vendor. Aang got a blue grinning mask with a mane, Sokka got a red mask of a sad character, Katara wore a mask of a doll like woman, and I got some…vampire looking….thing. It wasn't pretty, and to add insult to injury, the people who saw me would giggle. We stopped at a food stand to get something to eat, Sokka of course took the advice of the stall owner and got burned by his meal. I took something less spicy, I took a bit of bread. I munched on my loaf slowly, not wanting for eat it all at once. Aang took off, we quickly caught up with him.

"Where are you going?" Katara asked him.

"I don't know, but there is a big crowd, so it must be good," He replied, pointing at the large mass of bodies that surrounded a stage with four giant torches on it.

"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution," Sokka muttered. I gave him a hard stare, he looked at me quizzically, but I didn't say anything. I couldn't stand comments like that, they just rubbed me the wrong way.

On the stage was a fire bender who was showing his skill to the crowd, along with a few magic tricks. When he started dancing with his flames, it was a sight to behold. He was flipping, spinning and moving just like a kung-fu master. The fact that flames followed his arms and feet made the spectacle all the more impressive. Then I remembered something.

"Hey, Katara, when are you going to teach me what you know?" I asked her. She turned to me with a confused expression, then a look of realisation struck her.

"Next time we find some water, we can start on your lessons," She smiled. I almost fist pumped in joy, but I remembered the people around me, I didn't want to hit anyone. I wasn't paying much attention to the show, but my attention was snapped back at the stage when Aang violently pushed me out of the way crying "Pick me! Pick me!" I looked up and saw the performer scanning the crowd, he must've been looking for a volunteer. His eyes settled on Katara.

"How about you little lady?" He asked in a friendly voice as he leaned over us. Katara stepped back and shook her head. The performer laughed. "Aw, she's shy!" He giggled. "Let's give her some encouragement folks!" He cried waving his arms. A kid gently pushed Katara forward, and the preformed pulled her onto the stage. Aang looked down at his feet in disappointment, and Sokka whispered into his ear, saying that it's a good thing he wasn't picked.

"This next trick is called Taming the Dragon!" The performer said in a deep and menacing voice. I liked the enthusiasm this man was putting in his act, it reminded me of the street performers I saw when I was a kid. He tired Katara to a chair with a red ribbon, and then stepped forward towards the crowd. He moved his arms, and then a large flaming dragon sprung from the four torches. It flew in wide arcs, following the movement of the performer's arms.

"Don't worry, young maiden!" He cried enthusiastically. "I will tame this beast!" He created a flaming rope from his hands and swung it at his dragon. It then looked like he had the dragon tied by the neck, and he pretended to struggle with his flaming monster.

"It's too strong!" He gasped. "I can't hold it!"

Aang stepped forward. "We have to help her!" Sokka stepped in front of him.

"No way! Calm down Aang!" He said.

"This is part of the act," I whispered into the young Avatar's ear, but he didn't listen. When the actor was about to "Hit" Katara with his dragon, Aang leapt up onto the stage and blasted the fiery beast with a gust of air. The dragon exploded into multicolored confetti. Sokka cursed under his breath and leapt onto the stage to untie his sister. I simply stood there, dumbstruck by Aang's stupidity.

"Hey, it's the Avatar!" Someone cried. I realised that Aang's mask had fallen off when he jumped up onto the stage. Guards soon started to push through the crowd that surrounded us. Sokka and Katara grabbed me and pulled me onto the stage.

"Can we go now?" I asked. Sokka nodded and turned to run, but a voice called out to us.

"Hey, over here! I can get you out!" A man wearing a hood was waving at us from behind a wall. We quickly ran over to him as the guards were climbing onto the stand. He threw a smoke bomb at our pursuers, then signalled at us to follow him. We kept up with this stranger as we ran through the streets of the village, and this guy was knocking over everyone in his way, so it was no surprise that the guards found us. We took a turn and ran into an alley.

"I'm calling Appa!" Aang cried as he pulled out a whistle in the shape of a buffalo. I've never seen that before, nor did I remember when he bought it, but right now, I didn't care. He blew into it and no sound came out, I realised it was one of those "dog" whistles.

"I hope he can hear that!" Sokka gasped as he ran.

"This way!" Our saviour cried as he turned into another alley. We turned the corner and I bumped into him. "Not this way!" He yelped as fire nation guards blocked off the exit of the alley. The cloaked man threw a smoke bomb at the guards as we backed up. He took us into another alley, only this one was blocked off by a cart full of fireworks. It was too big to move, I know because I tried to push it out of the way. The fire nation guards cornered us, and they slowly advanced with their spears pointed forward. I heard a low moan and I looked up at the sky and saw our ride approach us.

"Appa! Down here!" Aang cried, waving his arms. The Bison flew down and landed in front of us. He aimed at the guards with his tail and sent a large gust of wind at our enemies. The alley was too tight for them to dive out of the way of the blast, so they were all knocked off their feet and sent flying. We climbed onto the Bison's back, and took off.

"That was too close," I gasped. I looked at the man who saved us. "Thanks a lot dude, you saved us,"

"It's no problem," He smiled as he removed his hood. I recognised his face, he was on one of the wanted posters we saw earlier.

"You're a Fire Nation soldier!?" Sokka gasped with more surprise than worry.

"I was, my name is Chey,"

We landed somewhere deep in the forest, far away from the village. Chey helped us make a fire to stay warm. As we gathered around the flames, Chey told us about how he abandoned the Fire Nation army and met a fire bender master called Jeong Jeong. He described Jeong Jeong as a legend, and by the looks of it, Chey really looked up to this man. Jeong Jeong was the first Fire Nation soldier to abandon the army and live, and it was Jeong Jeong who helped Chey escape. Chey offered to take us to Jeong Jeong, but Sokka was against this idea.

"This could be my only chance to learn from a fire bender!" Aang protested against Sokka's wish to head for the North Pole. In a way, I wanted to leave too, but it was to learn water bending, so I held my tongue knowing that I'd be speaking for selfish reasons.

"It can't hurt to just talk to him," Katara smiled, stepping towards her brother.

"You said that about going to the festival! Why does no one listen to me!?" Sokka cried.

"Because we love doing the opposite of what you ask," I laughed. We started to get up to leave, when we heard the rustling of leaves. I quickly glanced into the dark woods and saw nothing. I turned back to my friends, shrugging. I suddenly felt the point of a blade on my back. We were surrounded by men with spears who appeared out of nowhere. They weren't dressed like Fire Nation soldiers, instead they wore make-shift armor, and their weapons were also homemade. Chey spoke to them, and they reluctantly put away their weapons and guided us deeper into the woods.

"Jeong Jeong told you not to bring any Avatar!" One of the men growled as he walked. He continued to walk in silence, following the warriors as they guided us along an invisible path. We soon arrived at a river, and along the shore was a single lonely hut. The warriors told Chey to go speak to Jeong Jeong, Chey reluctantly went inside the hut, looking like a child being forced to apologize to an adult. The soldiers led us to another hut, this one was just into the woods, but we could still see the river from here.

"So…Is now a good time?" I asked Katara, leaning into the direction of the water.

"No, not now," She answered. I exhaled in disappointment. We waited in silence for a while, then suddenly, Chey stepped into our hut.

"Can I speak to Jeong Jeong now?" Aang asked the man excitedly. Chey looked at the Avatar sadly.

"He won't see you," He sighed. "He's very angry at me for bringing you here, he wants you to leave immediately,"

"Why not?" I asked. Chey looked at me, then turned his gaze back at Aang.

"he says you're not ready, you haven't mastered water bending or earth bending yet," Chey answered.

"How does he know that?" Aang asked nervously.

"He saw the way you walked into camp, he can tell," Chey replied. Aang got up angrily and stepped outside. My guess was that he was going to see Jeong Jeong. I unrolled my sleeping bag and got in it. I closed my eyes, and tried to get some sleep. In the middle of the night, Aang burst into the hut with a wide grin on his mouth.

"Let me guess," I yawned.

"He's going to teach me!" Aang grinned.

"For some reason, I don't think this is the right time for you," I sighed. Aang stopped smiling and looked at me with surprise.

"What do you mean? I have to master fire bending somehow,"

"Yeah, you do, but it's probably the most dangerous element of the four, and therefore, the hardest to control," I replied. "If you're not careful, you could hurt yourself, or others,"

"Don't worry about it, Fred. I'm going to be careful," Aang smiled.

"Just follow your teacher's lessons and you'll be fine, I guess," I reluctantly agreed. I knew he was going to hurt someone, Aang was too hyper, he was a child, and because of it, I knew he'd try something stupid.

That morning, Katara took me down to the river while Aang was with Jeong Jeong. I took off my shirt and pants in order to avoid having to wait for them to dry later. I stepped into the water, which was quite cold, but I bit my lip and toughed it out. Katara also stripped down to some swim wear, she joined me in the water and stood in front of me. She laughed when she saw my face.

"Is it that cold?"

"Just because I lived up north doesn't mean I lived on ice," I replied through clenched teeth. She laughed.

"Ok, so I'll start you off with something basic," She said.

"Basic is good," I smiled. She took a stance similar to my fighting stance, and started to rock back and forth. She would flick her wrists as she moved, and I saw that the water between us moved with her. I nodded as I watched her movement, memorizing when she flicked her wrists, how she distributed her weight. I was always good at imitating physical movements, so this simple trick should be easy. "Let me try it," I finally said. I took a stance, and started to move, I found a rithym before I stretched out my arms. After a second , I started to flick my wrists as I moved back and forth. Nothing happened.

"Try throwing more of your weight into the movement," Katara instructed. "And don't flick your wrists so much," I followed her instructions, and soon I started moving the water back and forth. I grinned stupidly as I increased my paced to make the water move faster.

"This is fun," I snickered. I increased the motion of my arms and created a small wave that went up to my knees.

"You got that quickly," Katara laughed.

"Don't tell me you're going to become jealous now," I teased her.

"I've learned my lesson," Katara raised her arms in mock defense.

Next she taught me how to stream the water, this one was rather difficult, I had to constantly shift my weight and move with the water. I was controlling it, yes, but making sharp turns would often send my streak of water flying.

"I wouldn't try moving so fast yet," Katara said. "Just try to get a feel for how your movements should be so you can practice control," This was striking me a lot like when I started martial arts. It was all about taking things slowly so that you could be ready when you need to perform. I slowed down my movements, and concentrated and having the water maintain its shape and motion.

"Hey, how exactly do you freeze water?" I asked my teacher. Katara looked at me, and thought for a moment.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now, I've had a few accident's the first few times I've tried it," I thought about what could've possibly happened, but the voice of Jeong Jeong broke my train of thought.

"Look at the girl! Is she talking? She is concentrating! The boy and the oaf as well!" The old fire bender was yelling at Aang, pointing at us.

"Hey!" I heard Sokka's voice cry.

"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asked.

"Feel the heat of the sun, it is the strongest source of fire, yet it is in complete balance with nature," The fire bender answered.

"Probably because it's a couple million kilometers away from earth," I laughed silently.

"When do I get to make fire?" Aang asked. Jeong Jeong violently ordered him to concentrate; this caused Katara and Sokka to start laughing. I giggled as well, but I returned my attention to the water.

"Ok, so moving the water and streaming it, I got this," I muttered to myself. I felt like I got the pushing trick down pat, as I could create rather large waves and control them (large for a beginner anyway). My focus turned to streaming. Katara did the same, as she moved an orb of liquid around her, shrinking it, stretching it, and creating patterns in the air with it. I was nowhere near as skilled as she was, the shape of my water balloon was rather shaky, unlike Katara's water which was smooth. I tried moving faster with it, but I sent the water flying, and I hit Sokka who was sitting on a rock, fishing.

"Hey! Watch it," He cried.

"Sorry," I laughed.

"It was bad enough with Katara, now I have to deal with TWO water benders," Sokka mumbled as he turned back to his fishing. I looked over at Aang, he was walking into the woods with Jeong Jeong.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"I'm sure it's part of his training," Katara answered. "Speaking of which, I never said stop,"

"Hey, we're friends, this relationship isn't a master student one," I held up a finger as I spoke in a playful tone. "How do you keep the shape of your water?"

"Oh, this comes with proper form," To show her point, Katara moved her liquid, shifting her weight gracefully as she did. He arms didn't jerk or shake nervously, but remained steady as she controlled the water. I decided to try to mimic her, I breathed slowly to calm down a little. I started moving slowly, not wanting to rush things. I pulled water out of the river, and closed my eyes to focus on my movement.

"Hey, you're getting it!" Katara laughed. I opened my eyes excitedly, but my water popped and fell.

"No! I had it!" I cried as I grabbed my head. "This is your fault," I muttered pointing at my teacher.

"Try it again," Again, I started moving the water. I kept this up for a few hours, but eventually my mind could no longer focus on bending. I stepped out of the river and onto the shore.

"You're done already?" Katara asked.

"One thing you'll learn about me, I have a short attention span," I grabbed my pants and put them on, my shirt soon followed. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Ipod. I looked at the charge, the green bar had diminished enough to leave a small black band at the end. "Guess it wouldn't hurt to listen to a bit of music," I told myself. I scrolled through my music, and found the genre I was looking for: Dubstep. I hit the play button, and started the music. It took me a moment to realise that Sokka and Katara were looking at me with odd looks.

"What? It's music!" I snapped. I turned around and saw Jeong Jeong standing behind me, with an expression of disbelief. He shook his head and went into his hut. I turned back towards the siblings, who were giggling.

"It's an acquired taste!" I nearly shouted, my cheeks turning red. I walked towards our Hut for some privacy, I sat down next to the door and listened to my music play. It reminded me of home, I wondered if people missed me. Suddenly, a strange thought formed in my head, What if I could never go home? I felt my heart stop. What if I was never going to have the chance to return, what if I was stuck here. Something even more terrifying happened; I wasn't bothered by the thought of staying here. I turned off my Ipod, and started to sweat nervously. The sounds of footsteps caused me to jump, I turned to see Aang stomping by.

"Hey, how's training?" I asked him. He made a sound…of some sort and kept walking. He disappeared into Jeong Jeong's hut. I stepped down towards the river, Katara was still working on her water bending. Her persistence impressed me. Aang came out of the hut and sad down on a piece of land in the water in front of the hut.

"So, you back for some more training?" Katara asked me. I looked at her surprised, then shook my head.

"Not really, my brain isn't exactly focused right now," I answered. "But maybe if you ask me to think fast I might-" Before I could finish, a water ball hit my face, knocking me back.

"What was that for!?" I yelled.

"You said you'd think fast," Katara smiled devilishly.

"You are so dead," I growled. I punched forward and a small pathetic streak of water headed for Katara's head. She spun around, easily taking control of my water and sent it back at me. It hit my chest with some force, I groaned in pain.

"You can do better than that!" She laughed. She stepped forward and sent a whip of water towards my face. I ducked and jumped forward into the water, avoiding the attack. I moved my arms forward and up, and to my surprise, a rather powerful splash exploded from Katara's feet. I closed my hands and the water froze, holding Katara in place.

"Wow…" I gasped. A shard of ice hit my forehead.

"Good one, you're going to be good at this," Katara told me as the ice around her melted. I held my forehead as I got up.

"Uh, thanks…I don't know how I did that," I replied. She smiled.

"Don't worry, I didn't know what I was doing at first, I still have no idea what I'm doing," She pat my shoulder. "Did I cut you?" She asked. I pulled my hand away and saw a few drops of blood.

"Guess you did," I laughed. I placed my hand back on my forehead. "This is going to give me a headache." Katara laughed a little then apologized, but her apology didn't sound honest. The voice of Aang cheering turned us towards him. Jeong Jeong handed him a leaf, telling him to keep the leaf from burning up. Aang moaned in disappointment. He assumed his fire bending stance and stared at his leaf. One of Jeong Jeong's men came down to the beach.

"Jeong Jeong! We have trouble!" He cried.

"What's going on?" Aang asked. Jeong Jeong ordered him to focus on his leaf as he ran with his friend to see what was happening.

"He is the worst fire bending teacher ever!" Aang cried, turning to us. "All he does is tell me to concentrate and leave me alone for hours!"

"I'm sure there is a good reason," Katara replied.

"But I'm ready to do so much more," Aang sighed.

"Aang, these are the basics, you always need your basics. He's the teacher, he knows what he's doing," I assured him. He gave a sigh then assumed a horse stance. He started breathing and focusing on his leaf. The leaf burst into flames, and Aang smiled.

"I did it! I made fire!" He cried in triumph.

"That's great, but you should take it slow," Katara ran closer to the boy, trying to discourage him from continuing forward with this. The flame grew bigger, and Aang's smile widened.

"Now that's fire bending!" The boy grinned.

"Aang, you'll hurt yourself!" Katara warned him, but he ignored her. He shot a jet of flame into the air, and juggled his fire ball.

"I wonder how that juggler did it," He placed his hands into the flame and pushed out. A ring of fire grew around him, and Katara held her hands up to protect herself. The next thing I head was a wail of pain as Katara held her hands close to her body and cried in pain.

"Katara! I'm so sorry!" Aang cried as he jumped over to her. Sokka came running from the woods.

"What happened?" He asked. He looked up at Aang. "You did this!?"

"It was an accident, I was…Katara, I'm so sorry!" Sokka jumped on Aang.

"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this!" He yelled. "You burned my sister," I ran over and pulled him off of Aang.

"It was an accident," I growled. "It was a mistake," Katara got up and ran off, Aang only watched as the girl ran. He didn't say anything.

"You burned her!" Sokka cried again. Jeong Jeong appeard out of the woods, a surprised and disappointed expression painted his face. Sokka pointed at him. "This is all your fault!"

Jeong Jeong's face contorted as if he was hit. "I know…Pack your things, you must leave immediately,"

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry," Aang started saying. But Sokka walked away, and Jeong Jeong headed off after Katara.

"It's ok Aang, she'll be fine," I told him, helping him up.

"It's all my fault," He nearly cried.

"You made a mistake, you learn from it." I told him. "We all hurt people when we don't mean to, the best thing we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on,"

He shook his head and walking into Jeong Jeong's hut. I sighed heavily. "This is going to bother him for a while," I told myself. I felt something drip down my face. I placed my hand to wipe it away, and saw that it was blood. I chuckled. "She must've cut me deep," I laughed. I walked up to our hut and started packing our things. Sokka joined me soon after I started. He noticed my face.

"Did Aang do that?" He asked.

"No, your sister did," I answered with a small laugh. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but when he understood my words, he paused. "I know what you're thinking, but Aang isn't to be held responsible. Yes, he acted irrationally and yes, he was stupid, but he's just a kid," I said. "He made a mistake, he'll learn from it and Katara will be fine. She won't be incapacitated by a small burn,"

"I guess you're right," He sighed.

"I'd normally tell you to apologize, but in this situation, you'd be saying sorry for caring about your sister. Next time don't yell at him so quickly," I smiled. As I finished packing my bag, I heard the sound of an explosion.

"Oh this is just great," Sokka sighed. "Everyone else is fighting while we are packing our stuff,"

"You're saying you want to be blown to bits by Fire Nation soldiers?" I asked.

"Yes! Wait… I mean no," He stammered. We grabbed our stuff and stepped outside. We started packing Appa with the gear, when Katara came towards us.

"Katara, are you ok?" Sokka asked her.

"I'm fine, where's Aang?" She asked.

"Down in Jeong Jeong's hut," I answered. She ran down towards the hut and disappeared inside. We continued to load the stuff on Appa. Thankfully, this didn't take long, and we were ready in about 2 minutes. Aang came out of the hut and ran by us, Katara followed but stopped when she reached us.

"Where is he going?" I asked her.

"He's going to help Jeong Jeong," She looked at me, and her eyes widened. "You want me to help you with that?"

"With that?" I asked stupidly. Katara grabbed my arm and pulled by down to the river. I realised what it was she was going to do.

"Hold still," She told me, Sokka came up to us and he gasped when he saw the water glowing when Katara touched it.

"That's amazing!" He gasped. Soon, my forehead was healed. I touched it to check, and sure enough, there was no hole.

"You'll have to teach me that trick," I grinned.

"I don't know if you'll be able to do that," Katara answered as she got up. She jogged over to Appa and ordered us to get on the Bison. Sokka took control of the reigns and flew us towards the sounds of explosions. We arrived further down the river, away from Jeong Jeong's camp. There were three burning boats, Admiral Zhao and Aang. Sokka called to Aang, and the Avatar ran over and leapt onto Appa. Zhao made no move to stop us, instead he looked humiliated. We flew up into the sky, away from the forest and towards the North.

"Where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asked us. I realised that, after Jeong Jeong left, I didn't see him return.

"He disappeared…they all did," Sokka answered. We looked down at Jeong Jeong's camp as we flew over it, and we saw no one.

"Aang, you're burnt," Katara said, pointing at Aang's arm. The boy looked down in surprise. "Let me help you," Katara opened up her gourd and used the liquid inside to heal Aang's arm.

"Wow, that's some good water," He remarked.

"When did you learn how to do that?" Sokka asked her.

"I guess I always knew," Katara replied.

"Can you teach me?" I asked her. Everyone looked at me. "Never mind, she gets her own unique skill," I sighed.

"Wait, if you could heal? What was with all that first aid?" Sokka cried. Now it was his turn to be looked at. "Like the time I had two fish hooks in my thumb!"

"Two?" Aang asked.

"He tried to get the first fish hook out with another," Katara giggled.

We all laughed as we flew over the trees.


	9. Episode 9: The Master Water Bender

That morning, I was really tired. The events of the last few days had me drained. It all started when he heard rumors of a group of flying people who lived in an Air Bender temple. Aang thought that some of his people had survived the genocide that happened 100 years ago, so we decided to check it out. When we got to the temple, we learned that it was normal people living there who invented flying machines and other advanced technologies in order to live. Eventually, we learned that the leader of this group was supplying weapons to the Fire Nation, and this didn't sit well with anyone. We convinced him to stop delivering weapons to the Fire Nation, but this caused a small attack on the temple. We managed to fight off the attack, but the Fire Nation got what they came for, a war balloon. We left when we were certain that the small society would be left alone, and now we were in the North Pole. How did I know that we were in the North Pole? There were ice burgs everywhere, and the temperature was low enough to make any normal Canadian wish for a -30 winter.

Appa glided lazily over the water, and I tried my best not to fall asleep.

"I don't mean to complain," Sokka began.

"But you're going to," I quickly interjected.

"But can't Appa fly any higher?" Sokka finished as Appa's feet touched the freezing water.

"I got an Idea, why don't we get on your back and you fly us to the North Pole?" Aang snapped.

"I'd love to, climb on everyone, Sokka's ready for takeoff!" Sokka sarcastically replied as he shook his butt at us. Momo ran onto his back, making me giggled.

"Look, everyone is just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight," Katara yawned.

"And for what? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe, there is nothing up here!" Sokka turned to face us, and started to pet Momo as he spoke. The sound of cracking ice caught our attention. We turned and saw a moving wave of water head towards us. It solidified when it was a few meters ahead of Appa. We screamed together as Aang violently pulled on Appa's reigns and dodged the ice. We had to hold onto the saddle in order to avoid being thrown off. Appa tried to dodge another newly formed ice burg, but he was hit. We spun for a few feet and landed in the water with a large splash. Before Appa could lift off, ice formed around him holding him down. We scanned the waters around us, and we saw a dozen small boats approach us. The people on it were dressed in winter coats similar to the ones that Sokka, Katara and I were wearing.

"It's the Northern Water Tribe!" Katara cried. "We've found them!"

"Actually I think they found us," I remarked. Aang spoke to the water benders, and it didn't take a lot of convincing for them to believe our story. They released Appa and lead us towards their home. We approached a large white wall with the symbol of the water tribe on it. This was the entrance to the Northern Water Tribe. The water benders opened a hole into the wall, and gestured for us to enter. When we were inside, the wall closed behind us. We arrived in a square water elevator, and the water benders began to fill up the elevator to allow us to rise up into the city.

"I can't believe how many water benders are here!" Katara gasped.

"We'll find a teacher here, no problem," Aang grinned.

"Remember, we only settle for the best!" I cried. Aang chuckled a little. We finally entered into the city, and it was quite the sight to behold. Everything was made of snow and ice. The city looked like a giant miniature model, it was white and the sun danced off the surface of every building. As we swam through the watery roads of the city, the citizens would crowd around to see us. Lots of children pointed at us, and Aang waved at them, getting a few cheers out of them. A small boat passed us, and on it was a pretty girl with white hair. Sokka's eyes followed her as she went by us.

"Hey, it's rude to stare you know," I grabbed his shoulder as I teased him. He quickly looked down at the water below, blushing.

That night, a large feast was held around a large courtyard like area near what I assumed was the palace of the Water Tribe. We were served all sorts of meats. Some I didn't even know what kind of animals they were, and I swore I saw eyes on one of the plates. We sat next to the tribe leader and his family. He stepped up from his seat and raised his arms in order to catch everyone's attention.

"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe," He smiled as his voice resonated in the air. Sokka and Katara smiled. "And with them, they have brought someone very special, someone whom we thought disappeared from the world until now…the Avatar!" He pointed to Aang who was sitting to his left.

"I certainly feel left out," I whispered to myself. Sokka heard me and silently laughed.

"We also celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday!" The leader stepped to the side and presented his daughter as she stepped towards the table. It was the same girl we saw earlier today. Sokka held his breath. "Princess Yue is now of marrying age!" The girl smiled.

"Thank you father," She turned to face the crowd. "May the great ocean and moon spirits watch over us in these troubled times!"

"Now, master Pakku and his students will perform!" The tribe leader pointed at three men who were standing across from us in front of a small waterfall. Pakku was the old blading man in the centre, and the other two guys were his students. They started bending water, and moving it in an amazing spectacle. They were moving much more water than I could move at this point, and it was really impressive to watch. I heard a small cough behind me, I turned and saw Princess Yue standing there. It took me a moment to realise that she was looked for a seat.

"Oh, sorry," I said as I got up. "You can take my seat, I'm not that hungry anyway," I smiled. I walked over to Aang and Katara and violently forced myself to fit between them (After realising where I was sitting, I switched seats to Aang's right). This pushed Sokka into Yue, which made me chuckle.

"So…you're a princess," Sokka nervously said as he tried to talk with Yue. She nodded awkwardly. "You know, from where I come from, I'm kind of a prince myself,"

Katara laughed. "Of what?"

"A lot of things! Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here," Sokka replied with venom.

"My appologies, Prince Sokka," Katara bowed, I started laughing.

The tribe leader pulled Aang to the side and brought him before Pakku. They were talking about teaching Aang water bending, and I prayed that he included Katara and I in those lessons. Aang came back and had a smile on his face.

"You guys are going to join me tomorrow morning," He smiled.

The next day, we made our way towards the palace of the water tribe. In front of it were a group of water benders and Master Pakku.

"I've been waiting for this day my whole life! I can't believe I get to learn from a real water bending master!" Katara could barely contain her excitement. We approached Pakku, he was busy warming up, moving an orb of water around.

"GOOD MORNING MASTER PAKKU!" Aang yelled. Pakku's water fell to the ground.

"No, please, march in, I'm not concentrating or anything," He sarcastically greeted us.

"Uh…these are my friends. Fred and Katara," We bowed politely as Aang introduced us. Pakku's brow rose when he saw Katara.

"I'm sorry, I believe there has been a misunderstanding," He created a chair from the ice at his feet and sat on it. "I believe you've never mentioned that one of your friends was a girl,"

"And this is a problem…why?" I asked. He shot me an annoyed glance.

"In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn water bending," He answered drily.

"What do you mean you won't teach me!?" Katara growled. "I didn't travel across the whole world so you can tell me no!"

"No," Pakku said.

"But there must be other water benders in your tribe!" Katara snapped.

"Here, the women learn from Yagotta to use their water bending to heal, I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student despite your bad attitude,"

"I don't want to heal, I want to fight!" Katara yelled.

"To be fair, she's been teaching what she knows to Aang and I," I added.

"I do not care, our tribe has customs!" Pakku replied.

"Well those customs stink!" Katara snapped.

"Yeah, if she can't learn, then I won't learn!" Aang growled.

"Have fun teaching yourself, I'm sure you'll do a great job!"

"Wait, Aang didn't mean that," Katara ran over to the Avatar. "You can't risk your training for me, you have to learn from Pakku, even if he is a big jerk," Aang nodded and reluctantly turned towards our new master.

"Why don't we get started then," Pakku grinned. He walked over to a small well and pulled out a large volume of water and shot it at Aang. He then pulled out another one and sent it flying at me. I tried to redirect the water, but I may as well have been doing nothing because I was flung back as easily as Aang was. I landed next to Aang, and got up.

"I can tell this is going to be fun," I mumbled to my friend.

We've been with Paku for hours, and he's been drilling us hard. He was a rather harsh teacher, but I knew that he understood his craft, and so I did my best not to lose my cool with him. He drilled Aang harder than me, but I think that was because he was the Avatar. As for me, he often called me a lost cause, but I tried my best as he instructed me to "create this, create that, move this, move that," By the end, which meant nearly 10 hours of training, I was exhausted both physically and mentally. The worst part was that I had to do it all over again tomorrow. When I made it to our igloo, I crashed onto my bed with a loud animalistic groan.

"I can see that it went well," Katara mumbled.

"Can't think…need sleep," I yawned. Sokka entered and kicked his bag.

"Warrior training isn't going well?" Aang asked him.

"No, it's Princess Yue," He replied. "One minute she wants to go out with me, and the next she's telling me to get lost,"

"Get used to it, all women are like that," I said from beneath my pillow. Everyone had a small laugh. A small moment of silence followed.

"How's water bending training going?" He asked us.

"Master Poop-head won't teach her because she's a girl," Aang growled as he looked at Katara.

"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?" Sokka suggested. The Avatar's eyes lit up.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Katara cried. "At night, you can teach me whatever moves Pakku teaches you, that way you'll have someone to practice with, and I get to learn water bending, everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy," Sokka grumbled.

"You're never happy," Katara observed.

"Go for it guys!" I smiled giving them a thumbs up.

"You're coming too," Aang grabbed my arm. I groaned in response. "You wanted to learn, so now you're going to learn!"

We found ourselves near one of the watery passages in the city. Aang demonstrated a move for Katara, and then she tried it out.

"I got it!" She smiled. The water started to move around her erratically, then it shot up.

"That was amazing!" Aang gasped.

"Uh…that wasn't her," I said nervously as I pointed up to the bridge above us. Pakku was there, and he looked pissed.

"I was just showing Katara a few moves," Aang explained.

"You have disrespected me, my teachings, and my entire culture!" He growled.

"I don't see how that was disrespectful…I mean he isn't a member of the Northern Water Tribe after all," I said. I cursed myself for being a smart-ass. Pakku sent a snowball into my face.

"You are no longer welcome as my student!" Pakku growled, then he walked away, leaving us in the dark.

We went back to our temporary home and told Sokka what happened. We then agreed to go see the tribe leader in order to ask him to force Pakku into taking Aang and I back as his students. We went to the palace and soon found ourselves in front of the entire royal family, and Pakku.

"You're asking me to force Pakku into taking Aang and Fred back as students?" The tribal leader asked.

"Yes, please," Katara begged.

"I believe he will be more than happy to oblige if you swallow your pride and apologize," The leader replied. Katara gave a hard stare at Pakku.

"I'm waiting little girl," Pakku said the last words in a mocking tone.

"No! No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" As Katara yelled, the ice beneath her feet began to crack. She stopped her foot and every vase in the room broke. "I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me!" She turned and stormed away. Everyone was rather surprised with her final words.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang nervously laughed.

"Yeah, I think she did," Sokka remarked. We ran outside to meet her. The sun had come up, we had stayed up almost all night because of this ordeal. We were walking down the stairs that lead to the palace towards the area where Pakku normally taught water bending.

"Are you crazy? You're going to lose!" Sokka cried.

"I know!" Katara ripped off her coat and threw it at Sokka. "And I don't care,"

"You don't have to do this for me, I'll find another teacher!" Aang begged, but Katara shot him an angry look.

"I'm not doing this for you, someone needs to slap some sense into that old guy," We arrived at the bottom of the stairs when she finished. She turned around and saw Pakku coming down the stairs.

"Kick his teeth in," I said, patting her shoulder.

"You decided to show up?" She growled as the old man walked towards us. We expected him to stop, but he kept walking past us, ignoring Katara. "Aren't you going to fight!?" She yelled.

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong," He said without looking back. Katara's teeth clenched tightly, and she created a watery whip in her right hand. She swung it and smacked Pakku on the back of his head. He stopped walking.

"Fine! You want to learn how to fight so bad? Study closely!" He pulled water out of the two wells that were on either side of the yard. Katara tried to run to him to get close, but he blew her away with a powerful blast of water. The liquid rose again and this time it made a small twister around Pakku and Katara. I couldn't see through the spinning water, but the circle that Pakku formed was getting smaller.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you!" I heard Pakku laugh. Suddenly, the spinning water was deflected, and passed right next to me, hitting Sokka. A small crowd had gathered to watch the fight, mostly consisting of Pakku's students. Katara charged Pakku, but he made a ramp to protect himself. Katara slid over the ramp, and landed on the railing of the stairs near us. Pakku melted his ramp and sent the water towards the girl. Katara froze her feet on the railing and deflected the water so that it passed around her. I was really impressed by her skill, and wondered if I'd be able to match it.

"You can't knock me down!" She yelled. We all cheered for her.

"Fight for your female rights!" I cried. She charged Pakku again, but he was ready for her. He sent her flying into the well on his left. She rose from the water with a cylinder of ice in front of her, and started shooting disks of ice from the top at the old master. He deflected the plates of ice with his hands, smashing them to the sides. Katara climbed out of the well and sent a gust of water at her opponent. He redirected the water towards her, and hit her, sending her rolling towards the steps.

"I'm impressed, you are an excellent water bender!" Pakku grinned.

"But you still won't teach me?" Katara asked. Pakku gave a solid no. Katara sent a roll of snow towards Pakku's feet, he leapt over it and ran towards the girl. She flung a stream of water which Pakku froze and slid on to get behind her. He knocked her on the back of her head, and I saw her mother's necklace fall. Pakku ended up near a well, and he pulled the water out of it. It hovered over Katara for a moment, then turned into icicles and fell towards her. Pakku guided to icicles to trap Katara, but not harming her. She was unable to move.

"This fight is over!" Pakku cried. He began to walk away slowly.

"Come back here!" Katara yelled. "I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are," Pakku replied. He stepped on Katara's necklace, and when it did, he looked down to observe it. He bent over and picked it up, his face contorting with emotions. "This…is my necklace," He whispered.

Katara's eyes widened with rage. "No it's not! It's mine! Give it back!"

"I made this necklace 60 years ago, for the love of my life…for Kana," His speech was slow, and heavy with nostalgia. The ice that was holding Katara melted, freeing her.

"Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?" Katara asked. Sokka's expression was rather comical. His mouth was opened really, really wide. His eyes were strained and his figure was rather stiff.

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we were engaged…I thought we'd live a long happy life together," Pakku explained. "I loved her,"

"But she didn't love you, did she?" Katara asked, all traits of hostility gone from her voice. "It was an arranged marriage," She stepped closer to Pakku. "She wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life, that's why she left" I turned and noticed that Yue was standing next to me. Her eyes were tearing up, I could tell that Katara's words were affecting her. Being a princess and all, she must've been engaged to a man that she didn't love. She began to cry, and ran away. Sokka watched her go, and Aang pushed him forward, encouraging him to go after her.

We went home that night, without saying a word. I managed to sleep rather well. The morning came too soon, and this meant that Aang and I had to go to another lesson. Pakku started to examine us on our progress. Aang had gotten pretty good at the first few moves Pakku taught us, and I progressed as well. Pakku's comments were more encouraging than derogatory this time, although he did try to hide it. He heard footsteps from behind us, and we turned to see Katara approaching the group.

"What do you think you're doing!? It's past sunrise, you're late!" Paku growled at her.

"It's great to have you here," Aang smiled.

"It's great to be here," Katara grinned.

"It's great to have someone to surpass," I laughed. We all giggled together as we started the lesson.


	10. Episode 10: Siege of the North Pole

**Author's note: Already at the end of season 1? Yeah, I guess so, skipping a few episodes allowed me to get to the end of the first season rather quickly. I plan to keep posting two chapters every day, but this might change seeing as I am not done writing for the second season. Don't be surprised if I suddenly take a hiatus in order to finish the second season. Thank you for reading this far into the series!**

We've been learning from Pakku for a few weeks now, I was trying my best to keep ahead of Katara, but that girl progressed so fast that it was hard to keep up. I wasn't so sure that I beat her in skill, but I could now at least use water bending effectively in a fight. One morning, Pakku had us spar with each other. Katara had beaten every single opponent so far, but now it was my turn.

"Begin!" Pakku cried. Instantly I pulled water from the well that was behind me and sent it at Katara. She redirected my water, spinning with it as she moved it. I quickly sent a roll of snow towards her feet, not wanting to give her a chance to strike back. She used my water like a blade to slice my second attack in two, then she flung the water at me. I raised up a wall of ice to protect myself, and when her attack hit my wall, the ice shattered. I punched my fists forward and sent the shards of my wall towards my opponent, but Katara had moved to my left before I launched my attack. The ice shards didn't even come close to their mark, and Katara froze my feet to the ground. I didn't have time to unfreeze my feet as Katara was following up with another attack. She used a watery whip and swiped it at me. I deflected it with my arms, but every lash felt like a bee sting. Katara took my immobility as an opportunity to immobilise me with one final attack. I found myself frozen and unable to move.

"Nicely done, Katara!" Pakku congratulated her. He turned to me. "An excellent effort on your part, but a lost cause will always be a lost cause," He melted the ice that held me, allowing me to move. I shook Katara's hand thanking her for the match.

"Would anyone like to have a rematch with Katara?" Pakku asked his class. Everyone remained silent, not wanting to face her a second time. Pakku turned to his star pupil. "You have advanced faster than any student I have every taught. You have proven, that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything," He turned towards Aang who was lying down playing with Momo. "Raw talent alone is not enough," He stepped closer to the boy. "Pupil Aang!" He cried to get the Avatar's attention.

"Yes master Pakku?" Aang asked.

"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figured that if you've found time to play with house pets, you must've already mastered water bending,"

Aang got up. "Well, I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out!" Aang started spinning and turned into a snowman thanks to the snow around him. Momo leapt onto his head and knocked him over. Pakku shook his head in annoyance, and Katara looked equally impressed. We continued with the lessons for a short moment when black snowflakes caught my eye. I looked up at the sky and saw black clouds rolling towards the Northern Water Tribe's home.

"No…" I heard Katara's voice whisper desperately. I turned to her and before I could ask, she told me that this was the same thing that happened before her village was attacked. The Fire Nation was coming. It didn't take long for the Water Tribe to sound the alarm. Drums were being beaten and soon everyone from the city came running towards the shelter of the palace. Katara, Aang and I followed them inside, a meeting was bound to take place as a result, and I hoped that these people would have a game plan for the approaching battle. Everyone was sitting in the main chamber of the palace; the tribe leader was sitting in front of us all, preparing to speak to all of us. My heart beat quickly in my chest. I have never been in an all-out battle before, and now that I was about to be stuck in one, I could feel my mind racing, I was remembering my own mortality, but I was also afraid of the death I might witness. Everything made me feel sick.

"The day we have feared for so long, has arrived," The tribal leader spoke in a somber tone, not wanting to cover up how grim the situation was. "The Fire Nation is at our doorstep…It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing that some of these faces will vanish from our tribe," The words felt like blades being lodged into my chest. I found myself looking at the faces of the people around me, fearing that I would later see the same faces with glazed, dead eyes. "But they will never vanish from our hearts, No! As we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" The voice of the leader rang out in the large room, echoing in my ears. He looked at all of the faces before him before continuing.

"I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission," Sokka who was next to me instantly stood up as he heard the request.

"Count me in!" He firmly said. We looked up at him, and Katara grabbed his hand.

"Sokka…" She breathed. We looked at the crowd and saw more volunteers stand, ready to accept the call to war.

"Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task," The tribe leader turned away and picked up a small bowl from behind him. Pakku and Yue stood to meet him at his sides. The volunteers stepped forward towards their leader; their faces wore masks of dread. Each and every one of them stepped up to the tribal leader, and allowed him to paint their foreheads with a red paste. Sokka stepped forward with them, and he too received the mark. I noticed that Yue's features stiffened when Sokka walked away, and she closed her eyes tight. I realised that those two have been spending a lot of time together recently, and then it hit me. She loved him. I realised that I hadn't gotten up to volunteer, and I felt like a coward. I didn't want to die, I didn't even want to fight. My own cowardice kept me from lifting up my body, and tears formed in my eyes. I was angry at myself for acting like such a child. I sat there in silence, and didn't notice that people started to leave the room. The meeting was over, and I was soon left alone in the large white room.

"Get up you damn coward," I breathed to myself. Slowly, I picked myself up off the floor I was sitting on. "You are a water bender, you can fight, you can help," I spoke out loud to myself, trying to encourage myself to leave the safety of the palace and into the city of the Water Tribe. I found myself stepping outside into the sunlight, and gazing at the horizon.

"Are you ok?" I heard a voice ask me. I turned to see Aang standing next to me.

"No," I answered truthfully. "I'm scared,"

"You don't have to fight if you don't-" Aang began to say, but I held my hand up to silence him.

"I'm not weak," I said. "I can help. I've always heard of the problems in my world, of the pain and suffering that happens in the wars and as a result of corrupt politicians and leaders, but I was always too weak or too selfish to even try to do anything, I'm not going to sit idly as you fight for these people," I turned to look at him. "I'm going to fight with you," My words surprised me, and their implications frightened me. But I knew that I had to follow through, at least for myself. Aang nodded, and gestured for me to follow him. We met with Katara and Sokka and headed towards the front wall of the city. We lined up at the center of the wall along with other soldiers. I looked at Sokka and Katara's faces and saw no emotion, just flat faces. I realised that everyone, even Aang wore this emotionless mask. I laughed silently when I realised that they were just as afraid as I was. It was a strange comfort.

In the distance, there was a single boat. I guessed it was a scout, sent to harass us in order to soften us up for the real invasion. A small light rose from the vessel, and began to grow as it approached us. The flaming projectile came straight for us, and I found myself moving to block it with my bending. I created a large spear of Ice and threw it at the flaming rock, but my spear did no damage to the projectile, I didn't put enough ice on it, so most of it melted or was too soft before hitting the solid rock. The projectile collided with the wall just beneath us, and cracked the ice, sending everyone flying. I tumbled through the air and landed on my right shoulder. I hear a loud pop, and a searing pain shot through my body. I remained still on the ground for a few moments, then when I was sure that debris had stopped falling I rose up. I couldn't move my right arm, and I pushed up with my left. I looked around and saw many soldiers lying around me, most were moving, but some remained still. I stood up, trying to ignore the corpses around me, and slowly made my way to the wall. Another flaming bolder hit the wall, sending more soldiers flying, but it was off to my left, I was safe from the blast. I reached for my arm and cried out loud when I touched it. My arm was dislocated, I've had experience relocating joints for other people, but the pain made it nearly impossible for me to even consider attempting it. I looked up and didn't see Aang or Appa anywhere, but I assumed they went to attack the ship because it stopped shooting. I found Sokka and Katara nearby, Sokka was helping his sister out of a pile of snow.

"Are you ok?" Sokka asked my.

"My shoulder…" I answered, wincing. Sokka approached me and took a quick look.

"I think I know how to fix this," He said, He violently grabbed my arm and pushed it in an upward motion. I yelped loudly as I felt the joints line up.

"A little bit of a warning next time," I cried, tears in my eyes. I moved my arm around, it was sore, but at least it was functional. "What about you two? No broken bones?" I asked them. They shook their heads.

"I liked what you tried to do," Katara said. "Next time I'll help you make a spear to throw,"

"Or a giant spike to assplode the next volley of fireballs," I muttered. We climbed back onto the wall, and started to help the other water benders with repairing it. In the middle of the repairs, I heard someone gasp. I turned out towards the ocean in order to see why they were gasping, and my eyes widened when I saw an entire fleet of vessels slowly floating towards us.

"Volley incoming!" I heard someone scream. I looked up and saw fireballs raining down on us. Many of the water benders created spikes to stop the fire balls, but there were too many to block. Many got through the defenses of the soldiers and collided with the wall and the city behind it. One of these fire balls was headed straight for me, and I didn't have time to dodge out of the way.

"Not this time!" I growled, I brought my arms together, then stepped forward pushing my hands out front. Three thick icy streaks rose from around me and shot straight for the projectile. My defenses hit the boulder, but it continued to descent towards me at a slower pace. I moved my hands together and created additional spikes from my initial three in order to create a web of ice. The rock slowed down considerably and stopped. I sighed in relief as the Ice beneath the rock melted, allowing the boulder to fall harmlessly into the sea below the wall.

The majority of my day was spent trying to fix the front wall and trying to deflect as many fireballs as I could. By the evening, I was exhausted, and was so warm that I couldn't wear the coat Sokka had given me. No Fire Nation soldiers entered the city yet, they were planning on using all of their boulders on us before starting their invasion. The thought wasn't exactly comforting, but it meant that we had time to plan and to think of a defense. As the sun began to set, the enemy ships stopped shooting at us, and silently waited in the water. I had to take a break, along with most of the soldiers that were on the wall that day. Other soldiers came to take our places for the night, they would allow us to get some sleep and rest for the coming day. I followed Katara to the palace, we didn't say anything as we walked towards the only untouched building in the city. Yue was in front of the palace, and she smiled in relief when she saw us. I didn't speak to Yue a lot, maybe once or twice during my time with the tribe, but she was a nice and friendly person, and the fact that we were close with Sokka helped her kindness.

"I'm so relieved to see that you're ok," She told us when she approached us. She moved closer to hug us, but I pushed her back with my left arm.

"Not a good idea, I'm all sweaty," I said with a grin. Yue noticed the smell that emanated from me and moved to plug her nose, she realised what she was doing, and we silently laughed. "I can't believe I'm laughing at a time like this," I sighed.

"It's one of many ways to deal with stress," Yue agreed. She turned to Katara. "Is Sokka alright?"

"Yes, he's meeting with the other volunteers to prepare for an attack on the fleet," Katara answered. Yue's expression changed slightly, but she didn't say anything. We heard Appa's unmistakable growl from behind us. We turned and saw the bison and Aang approach us from the sky.

"I can't do it…I can't do it…" The boy whispered in an exhausted tone as he slid off Appa. I could see a sheen of perspiration on his skin, and Appa slumped on the ground breathing hard.

"What happened?" Katara asked.

"I took out at least a dozen ships…but there is too many of them," Aang replied sadly. "There's just too many…"

"You can do it," I said, trying to comfort him. "You're the Avatar, I'm sure you'll come up with something,"

"I'm just one kid," Aang protested. He buried his head between his knees, and Katara crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his back.

"Let's go, you must be exhausted after today," Yue told us. I nodded, and helped Katara pull Aang on his feet. He headed into the palace where I ate a light meal and sat for a few hours. Sleep would not come, and I'm sure everyone in the city was facing the same problem. Yue eventually lead us to a balcony overlooking to Northern Water Tribe. Night had fallen, and the moon glistened in both the sky and in the sea. From here, you could almost forget the battle, but the crumbled buildings below reminded you of the reality.

"The legend says that the Moon was the first water bender," Yue began. "Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves,"

"I've noticed that my water bending is always stronger at night," Katara remarked. It was true, I felt more powerful than I did that morning, and this explained why the Fire Nation had stopped their attack. I looked up at the moon, wishing that, if it really was a spirit that watched over these people, that it would help them.

"Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life from the Spirit of the Ocean," As I listened to Yue's words, a memory of the show came back to me. I remembered that the fish in the sacred pond were these spirits. _Damn it!_ I thought. _We need to protect those fish from Zhao!_

"The spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!" Aang cried triumphantly.

"You'll have to do it fast, morning won't wait for you," I said.

"I can do it," Aang smiled a confident grin.

"How can you do it?" Yue asked perplexed.

"The Avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and the real world, he can talk to them!" Katara explained, smiling.

"They could give you the wisdom you need!" Yue cried.

"Or, they can unleash a crazy spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang cheered. No one seemed to agree with this idea. "Or wisdom, that's good too,"

"Personally, I like the spirit attack," I laughed.

"There is one problem, the last time you got to the spirit world by accident, how will you get there this time?" Katara asked. Yue stepped forward with a smile.

"Follow me," She said as she walked away from us. We chased after her deep into the palace, and eventually we came out somewhere behind the building. The princess lead us to a small wooden door.

"Is this the way to the spirit world?" Aang asked. Yue giggled.

"No, you'll have to get there on your own," She leaned down and opened the door. "I can, however, take you to the most spiritual place in the North Pole," We stepped through the small door, and a wave of soft heat hit me. It looked like we were in an oasis in an icy trench. There was a small grassy patch of land surrounded by water, and Aang smiled when he saw it. He jumped over the water towards the small island and started bouncing on the grass.

"I never thought I'd miss grass so much," He laughed.

"Why does it feel like summer instead of…you know…like a block of ice?" I asked. Yue smiled as she started to explain.

"This is the centre of all the spiritual energies in our land," Katara removed her coat as Yue spoke. I heard the small chirps of Momo who had followed us here. He looked into the water and saw two cat-fish swimming (not some of the weird animal hybrids this world had, but just normal cat-fish). One fish was black with a white spot on its head, and the other was white with a black spot.

"Hey, it's like the Ying Yang," I observed.

"You know the Ying Yang?" Aang asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, it originated in china. Come to think of it, a lot of what I see in this world reminds me of Chinese culture," Yue shot a puzzled glance in my direction, and Katara mouthed the words "I'll explain later," to the princess.

"Alright, I'm going to need some peace and quiet so I can focus," Aang sat just like a Buddhist monk and closed his eyes. We stood in silence as we watched him.

"Why is he sitting like that?" Yue asked quietly.

"He's meditating, trying to cross over into the spirit world," Katara whispered back. "It takes all his concentration,"

"Is there any way we can help?" Yue asked.

"HOW ABOUT SOME QUIET!" Aang cried. "Didn't you hear me earlier? I understood every word you said!" He turned back quickly and resumed his meditation. After a few moments, his tattoos began to glow.

"Is he alright?" Yue asked with a hint of panic.

"He does that sometimes," I answered.

"He's crossed over into the spirit realm, as long as we don't move his body, he'll be able to come back," Katara explained. I turned to Yue and smiled.

"I don't understand it either, it's all Avatar stuff, you know?" Yue didn't respond, instead she stood there, looking at Aang with concern.

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly capable of protecting him," Katara smiled.

"Well, aren't you a big girl," A voice said from our right. We all turned and saw a battered Zuko walking towards us.

"What happened to your face?" I asked him, he gritted his teeth and took another step forward.

"Hand him over, and I won't hurt you," He growled.

"Yue, run!" Katara cried as she pulled water from her gourd to deflect an oncoming fireball from Zuko. As Katara and Zuko exchanged a few blows, I created an icy shell for Aang to protect his body from the fight. I turned to face Zuko, and saw him get knocked over from a blow from Katara.

"I see you've learned a new trick, but I didn't come this far to lose to you!" He turned and started shooting flames at the girl, but she held her own and pushed him back into the water. She then froze his feet and encased him in a cocoon of ice, similar to the one I made for Aang.

"You little peasant," Zuko growled from inside the ball of ice. "You've found a teacher haven't you!?" The ball began to glow red, and Zuko burst from the icy shell. He leapt forward and kicked a flaming streak at Katara, who deflected it. He was about to follow up with another attack, but I caught his arms with a watery whip. I froze his hands together and he looked in my direction with a mix of surprise and anger.

"She's not the only one who's improved," I smiled. I pulled an orb of water and blasted it towards the banished prince. He dropped onto his back and began to spin, sending fire in every direction. Katara and I were forced to protect ourselves, leaving us open to another attack. Zuko kicked at my feet, burning my ankles. I cried in pain, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins dulled it, allowing me to keep my footing for the most part. Katara managed to deflect a flaming punch aimed at her, but it was a distraction. He slipped by her and shot a jet of flame at the cocoon I created around Aang, melting a part of it. I quickly shot a stream of water at him, knocking him away from the Avatar. Katara followed up my attack by freezing Zuko to one of the icy walls. His limbs were pinned and he was helpless.

"Katara, I could use you for a moment," I grunted as I stepped onto the grass, out of the water. My burns stung as my clothing rubbed against them.

"Right, give me your feet," Katara crouched down and started to heal the burns. I was enjoying the soothing sensation when a streak of light caught my eyes. I looked up at the sky and saw the dark blue of the night sky was being replaced by the pale blue color of the morning sky.

"No…" I gasped. Quickly I got up as Zuko's hot breath melted the ice that trapped him. Katara was the first to get up, but Zuko managed to blast through her defenses and knocked her against a one of the walls. I got up in time to see a fireball flying towards me. I dove out of the way into the water and barely avoided the attack. I got up and shot my own water balls at Zuko, but my attacks were much weaker now, and Zuko had no problem deflecting my moves.

"You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun," He sneered. He melted the rest of Aang's cocoon and grabbed the Avatar.

"Get back here!" I growled as I launched an icy spike at him. He reacted swiftly by spinning around and kicking my spike out of the way, then blasting a large flame towards me which sent me flying back into the front door of the shire. I groaned in pain, and my vision swam. I eventually was able to stand, but when I looked around the shrine, Zuko was nowhere to be found. He took Aang as well.

"God damn it!" I yelled, smashing my fist against the icy wall to my right, cracking it. I ran over to Katara and checked to see if she was alright. A large bump had formed at the back of her head, but apart from that, she was fine. I heard the faint battle cries of soldiers in the city. I turned towards the entrance of the shrine wide eyed, half expecting to see Fire Nation soldiers coming in the kill us. When I was satisfied no one was coming in, I turned back to the girl that was unconscious next to me. She suddenly woke up violently, she cried for Aang as she rose to her feet.

"Zuko has him," I said. "He beat me and I couldn't protect Aang," I hung my head in shame.

I heard something large land behind me. "What happened? Where's Zuko?" Sokka's voice asked.

"He took him, Zuko took Aang. We tried to stop him but…" Katara couldn't finish.

"It's my fault," I said. Everyone turned towards me. "I wasn't strong enough; he beat me because I wasn't strong enough,"

"I'm sure you did your best," Yue whispered in my ear, trying to comfort me.

"Where did they go?" Sokka asked. I shot up onto my feet.

"I know!" I cried, I pointed up towards the top of the gorge. "He must've gone up there; it's the only place he could've escaped to without meeting any water benders!"

"We can find him, Aang is going to be fine!" Sokka smiled. "We'll find him, we always get through these things," We all climbed onto Appa's back, the only one who didn't follow us was Momo.

"You stay here Momo, in case Aang comes back," Katara told the lemur, and with that, we took off. Above the shrine was a real blizzard, it was impossible for us to tell where Zuko went.

"How are we going to find them in this weather?" Yue asked.

"We'll think of something," Sokka replied. He scanned the area, but the falling snow didn't offer him much visibility. "We'll start circling around looking for any crevice Zuko might have holed up in, this blizzard would be way too dangerous for him to travel through on his own with Aang,"

"I just hope we can see a big glowing light that'll point us in the right direction," I sighed.

"Don't be so pessimistic," Katara placed a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find him,"

"I wasn't being pessimistic, I'm saying if he returned to his body, we'd see the light…it'd make finding him a lot easier!"

"Well, while we look, do you mind telling me who YOU are?" Yue asked.

"Me? Well, I'm no one in particular," I stammered.

"Yeah, he's just from another world, nothing special," Sokka smiled.

"Another world?" Yue laughed.

"It does explain his clothing," Katara giggled as she pulled on my t-shirt.

"Can I just have one person who does not think my clothing looks funny? This was fairly common where I come from!" I suddenly realised how cold it was and shivered. "But now that you mention it, I am not dressed for this weather," Sokka pointed me to the clothing on Appa's saddle, and I fished out a coat to wear. It was one of Katara's coats, but I didn't care at the time. We remained silent after our little exchange, looking for any sign of Aang and Zuko. After a good LONG while, we saw a faint blue light in the distance. Knowing that it was Aang, Appa sped in the directing of where the light was. The blizzard had begun to die down, and we could see Aang crawling away from Zuko. We landed near them, and Katara leapt off Appa and got into a fighting stance.

"Here for a rematch?" Zuko asked as he got into his stance.

"Trust me Zuko, It's not going to be much of a match," Katara blocked Zuko's first fireball, then made the snow around him engulf him and freeze him on top of a large icy pillar. The pillar suddenly plunged down to the earth, burying the prince in a mountain of snow. Sokka ran over to Aang and cut the ropes that bound him. Sokka noticed that the rope was of good quality, so he bagged it. Aang quickly leapt on Appa, and told us about the moon spirit's location.

"We need to get back to the oasis!" Aang told us as we flew away from Zuko's unconscious body. I looked back at him as we flew.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked.

"Who cares?" Katara growled.

"I do, we can't leave him to die!" Aang hopped off Appa and picked up Zuko.

"Yeah, good idea, let's bring the guy who's been trying to kill us," Sokka sarcastically agreed as Aang plopped the prince onto Appa's saddle. As we flew towards the oasis, I noticed that it was night.

"We were up for two days without rest?" I gasped.

"Time flows quickly during war," Yue nodded. The sky suddenly began to turn red, and the moon seemed to disappear from the sky.

"Uh…what just happened?" Sokka nervously asked. Yue suddenly held her head as if she were in pain. "Are you ok?" Sokka asked her.

"I feel faint," Yue answered.

"I feel it too," Aang said. I noticed that he too seemed to be having a head ache. "The moon spirit is in trouble," Aang looked up at the red moon that blended in almost perfectly with the red sky.

"I owe the moon spirit my life," Yue told us. "When I was born, I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they are born, but it was as if I was asleep,"

"So you're saying that, you were a…stillbirth?" I asked. She pondered my question and nodded in response.

"I guess so. The healers couldn't heal me, so my father pleaded with the spirits to save me," She continued. "That night, he brought me to the oasis and placed me into the water. My dark hair turned white, and I began to cry," She smiled a little. "That's why my mother named me Yue, for the Moon,"

"Moon spirits saves you, and now you have a chance to repay the debt," I grinned. Yue laughed slightly and nodded.

We landed in the oasis, and Zhao was there with four soldiers, holding a small bag that held the white fish. He hadn't noticed us, as he was calling himself a variety of "glorious" names (vain much!). Momo jumped on the Fire Nation admiral's head, getting his attention. He noticed us when Momo flew off him. We all got ready for a fight, but Zhao made no move to attack us.

"Don't bother!" Zhao warned us, to show that he wasn't bluffing; he raised his fist and aimed it at the fish.

"Zhao, don't!" Aang pleaded, but Zhao shook his head.

"It's my destiny, to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe," The Admiral grinned.

"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the water tribe," Aang replied. "It will hurt everyone, including you," Zhao seemed to hesitate at Aang's words. "Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance, you have no idea what kind of chaos that would throw the world into!"

"He is right Zhao!" An old voice cried from behind us. We all turned to see Zuko's uncle.

"General Iroh," Zhao distastefully muttered. "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

"I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon too!" Iroh said. "We all depend on the balance, whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold! LET IT GO NOW!" Iroh got into a fighting stance, and I knew that the old man meant business. Zhao's features relaxed, and he crouched down and released the fish. The moon and sky returned to normal for just an instant, and then my vision was blurred by a large orange glow. Zhao had shot the moon spirit with a blast of fire, killing it. It looked like the world lost all color; it was actually very terrifying to see. Iroh leapt quickly and attacked the admiral, but Zhao's soldiers jumped in front of Iroh, protecting their leader. Iroh made quick work of them, but Zhao disappeared somewhere, I didn't see where he ran off to. We rushed over to Iroh, who had picked up the dead fish.

"There is no hope now," Yue sobbed. Sokka hugged her as she cried silently.

"No, it's not over," Aang said, he had begun to glow, and stepped forward into the water. The black fish began to swim around him, and suddenly the white spot on its head began to glow like Aang's tattoos. Aang disappeared under the surface of the water, and soon the water began to glow a bright blue. The water rose up, and it turned into a giant walking fish. It stepped out of the oasis, towards the Water Tribe city.

"AAAAH! IZ GODZILLA!" I shouted with an Asian accent, unable to contain myself. Everyone stared at me with completely baffled expressions. I looked back at them. "Ok…I know what you're thinking…I am not being insensitive right now," Iroh gave a heavy sigh as he placed the fish back into the water. Katara crouched down next to the old man.

"It's too late," Katara murmured. "It's dead,"

We sat in silence for a moment, and I suddenly felt bad about my earlier joke. Iroh looked at Yue, and he suddenly perked up. "You have been touched by the moon spirit," Iroh said as he pointed at the white haired girl. I noticed that her eyes were blue and colored, unlike the world around us.

"Yes, you're right, it gave me life," She whispered. She looked at me, and then a small smile crept across her lips. "You were right when you said I'd get the chance to repay the moon spirit for saving me," She got up, and realisation struck us all.

"No!" Sokka cried as he grabbed her arm. "You don't have to do that!"

"It's my duty, Sokka."

"I won't let you! Your father asked me to protect you! It's my duty!" Sokka protested, tightening his grip on the girl.

"I have to do this," Yue quietly answered. She pulled her arm away from Sokka and approached Iroh, who had picked up the dead fish. She kneeled down in front of the old man and placed her hands on the dead spirit. The fish began to glow as the princess closed her eyes. She suddenly breathed out heavily, and fell. Sokka cried out as he caught her, and held her against his body.

"She's gone," He cried. "She's gone," He repeated quietly. Sokka sat silently with the dead princess for a few moments, and suddenly her body vanished. I felt like making an Obi-Wan reference, but I held my tongue as I realised how stupid and insensitive it would be for me to make such a comment. I hated my sense of humor, it showed up at the most awkward times.

The fish in Iroh's hands began to wiggle, and the old man placed it into the water. The fish glowed and soon, a ghostly Yue rose from the water.

"Good-bye Sokka," She whispered. She bent down, approaching his face. "I will always be with you," She kissed the boy as she slowly vanished. Color returned to the world, and I could see the full moon hanging high in the sky.

The rest of the night was uneventful. The Fire Nation retreated and the city was safe, and Iroh and Zuko disappeared without a trace. Zhao was found dead, he drowned during Aang's attack on the Fire Nation soldiers with the power of the ocean spirit. My body ached from the two previous nights and days, and all it wanted was some sleep. That morning, I stood with the gang, overlooking the demolished city, wondering how long it would take for its citizens to rebuild was what destroyed. Katara spoke with master Pakku, Aang skulked alone, his shoulders hanging low, and Sokka was speaking with Yue's father about his daughter. I didn't want to bother anyone, especially after everything that just happened. I stood a small ways away from everyone, alone with my thoughts. I was thinking about the journey that laid before us, the obstacles we would face, and the allies and enemies we would make.

"Hey Fred, it's time to go," Sokka said as he approached me.

"Sorry about last night's…joke," I sighed shamefully. "I don't know why but…"

"You were trying to lighten the mood," He smiled. "I think we know you well enough to expect that kind of thing from you now," I smiled back at him, and he placed his hand on my shoulder as he lead us towards Appa.

"By the way, what is Godzilla anyway?" He asked curiously.

"It's a movie from where I come from," I answered. "Movies are like plays, I guess, and the whole point of Godzilla is that there is this giant lizard that runs around destroying towns," Sokka thought for a moment, and then a small grin spread across his lips.

"I can see why someone from your world would laugh," He said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Man I miss my home, but at the same time…I don't exactly want to leave just yet,"

"Glad to hear you want to stick around," I heard Aang's voice say from behind me. The young air bender climbed onto Appa with Katara.

"Where to?" Katara asked.

"We head for Omashu!" Aang exclaimed. "To find Bumi so that he can teach me earth bending!"


	11. Episode 11: The Earth Base

The Northern Water tribe was nice enough to give us a boat with which to travel. We were all exhausted after the siege that happened only a few days ago, and I doubt anyone wanted to fly at the moment, not even Aang. The boat carried us along with other members of the water tribe who were headed towards the South Pole in order to rebuild Sokka and Katara's tribe. They were all nice people, and Pakku who was among them seemed to be less bitter than he usually was. Whenever I felt like I had the energy, I'd ask Pakku to help me with my bending, honing my skills with the old master, but being on a boat with limited space didn't give us much room, so each lesson was short and covered very little ground. Aang was having reoccurring nightmares, but I never found out what had him on edge. Katara would often speak with him at night when he would wake from a nightmare.

After three weeks, we had to part ways. Pakku gave me a gourd of water with which I could easily pull water out of it with a swift hand motion. I placed the gourd to my back, as I found it easy to create a large ice dagger as I "drew" the water. Katara was given a small flask that held water from the oasis of the Northern Water Tribe, apparently, it had unique properties so Katara made sure to keep it on her at all times. Aang was given a box of water bending scrolls to help him along with his lessons. I admit, I was jealous, but I remembered that he needed them more than I did, and so I kept my mouth shut. Sokka was the only one who received nothing, and I kinda felt bad for him. Pakku instructed us to head to General Fong's Earth Base. There, we would be given an escort to Omashu where we would meet with Bumi in order to have him teach Aang earth bending. The plan sounded simple, and I was looking forward to seeing the crazy earth king again.

Being in the air again was strange. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be on Appa's back as the giant bison flew. It was rather exhilarating being next to the clouds and feeling a warm summer breeze brush against my skin. I was glad that I didn't have to wear a winter coat, I was happy to wear my old t-shirt and jeans. My shoes however were exchanged for water tribe shoes. They didn't exactly go with my attire, but they were very comfortable, which made up for the odd look they gave me.

"There it is!" Sokka pointed towards the Earth Base as we sailed over it. Aang pulled us in. It was a circular ring with four roads exiting it in a cross like pattern. The inside of the ring held a large building with smaller huts lining a central yard. We landed onto the large building, and a man with a large beard was there to greet us, along with his soldiers. He wore the uniform of a high ranking Earth Kingdom soldier, and a large smile spread on his lips when he saw up.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" He saluted us. "I am General Fong, and welcome to all of you great heroes!" He raised his arms towards us. "Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara and…Fred!"

"Hey, I want an adjective in front of my name too!" I cried. The sounds of fireworks resonated in the Base. We all turned and saw the colorful display. Sokka seemed to enjoy it the most as a rather large grin spread on his lips.

"Not bad," He smiled. The General invited us inside, and we followed him to a large room lined with pillars. A desk was at the end and we sat in front of the General as he relaxed behind his desk.

"I was amazed by the stories I've heard of how you single handily wiped out an entire Fire Nation navy fleet at the North Pole," Fong smiled as his attention was focused on Aang. "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power…It's an awesome responsibility," Fong had a dreamy look in his eyes.

"I try not to think about it too much," Aang answered politely.

Fong grinned. "Avatar, you are ready to face the Fire Lord now,"

"What!?" We all cried unanimously.

"Aang still needs to master all four elements," Katara remarked.

"Why?" Fong asked with a hint of menace. "With the kind of power he possesses? Power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes? He can defeat the Fire Lord now!" Fong's fist smashed on his desk.

"But He can only do those things in the Avatar State," Sokka pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that, his eyes and tattoos glow and he can summon unimaginable power," Fong walked over to a large map of the world that stood to the right of his desk. "Without Aang, we'd be dead before we reached the shores of the Fire Nation, but with you leading the way," He turned to face us and pointed at Aang. "We cut across straight to the heart of the Fire Nation and put an end to this war,"

"But I don't know how to get in and out of the Avatar State, much less what to do once I'm there," Aang said.

"So it's decided then, I'll help you find out how to get into the Avatar State, and then you'll face your destiny,"

"Woah woah woah! We never agreed to this plan," I cried getting up along with my friends. "I don't think this is a good plan, there are too many unknowns and things that can go wrong,"

Katara nodded. "We already have a plan, Aang will face his destiny HIS way,"

"What you are suggesting is non-sense; you are planning on keeping this war going while he holds the power to end it?" Fong rose up from his seat and stepped towards a window. "Let me show you something," We stepped next to the earth bender and looked out at a building surrounded by limping figures.

"That's the infirmary, and those soldiers are the lucky ones," He turned towards Aang. "Every day, the Fire Nation takes lives, people are dying, Aang!" The boy looked down at his feet, and Fong sensed that his words were affecting the Avatar. "You can end it, now! I want you to think about it," Fong turned and left the room, leaving us alone with the skulking Avatar.

"Come on Aang, let's find our rooms and talk about this," I stepped up behind the boy and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the window. We followed a soldier who guided us to our sleeping quarters, and there we each chose a bed to sleep in.

"Aang, you can't agree to help Fong," Katara said.

"Katara, this war has been going on for a hundred years, people have suffered long enough…and I abandoned them long ago…I should make it right," Aang replied.

"But the Avatar state is not the way to do it, what if you leave the Avatar state in the middle of a battle and end up being killed? That sure would help people if you ended up dead because of a stupid general's plan," I snapped.

"I don't see why it's a bad plan, if he can do what he did to those ships again, then why not do it again?" Sokka countered.

"I don't know…I need to sleep," Aang mumbled after a moment of silence. We all soon laid in our beds, and I closed my eyes slowly, drifting off to sleep. I was woken up by the sound of Katara, Sokka and Aang talking.

"If you two meat-heads want to throw away everything we worked for, fine! Go ahead and glow it up!" Katara cried as she stormed out of the room. I sat up with tired eyes and saw her close the door.

"Katara! I'm being realistic," Aang protested, but the girl was gone.

"Don't tell me you agreed to help him," I moaned. Aang turned to face me, and nodded sadly. "God, you can be a real idiot sometimes," I sighed. "You can either go with the method that will absolutely work, or you can bet the salvation of the world on a plan that we aren't even certain we can execute, I say we leave for Omashu as soon as possible instead of wasting our time here only to learn that you can't go into the Avatar State at will," I turned away from the boy before he could speak. "Go to sleep, and prepared to be disappointed tomorrow," I said before closing my eyes and forcing sleep to come to me.

The next day, we all gathered with Fong in order to try to find out how to get Aang into the Avatar State. Every attempt yielded negative results, as no amount of spiritual ceremonies or natural performance boosters could push Aang into his god-like powers. I eventually found myself marching towards Fong that evening. I was angry with him wasting our time, and I knew that he wouldn't want to let us leave after Aang agreed to help him.

"General Fong, you have to stop this stupid attempt to get an easy solution to this war," I said.

"I don't understand what it is you're saying," He replied. "This war has been going on for 100 years, and you're telling me that I am looking for an easy solution? The last 100 years have not been easy, and you're suggesting that we let more people suffer when we can end it right now?"

"I understand how much you want this war to end, but let's face it, this plan of yours is nothing more than a childlike dream, it's a gamble," I replied.

"What do you know? You have no idea how much we've suffered, you aren't even from this world!" I paused when I heard him say that. "Yes, I know who you are, I've heard the rumors. You are not native to this conflict, so it should be expected that you'd be blind to our suffering,"

"Blind to your suffering?" I yelled. "I was at the North Pole, I fought with the water tribe and watched them die around me during the attack. Where I come from, there has not been an absence of war for over 100 years, we've been waging wars for much longer than you," I breathed heavily. "There was always a new enemy, always a new reason for armies to drop bombs on people or to kill others for as long as I can remember, and the history of my world is riddled with war after war, after war, after war!" I pointed a finger in the General's face. "Don't tell me that I can't relate with you people, that I don't understand your suffering, I'm human like you. I am suggesting we take a solution that is guaranteed to work rather than bet the world on a whim," Fong just looked at me with an unchanging expression, which angered me even more. "You're deluded," I growled. "You say you've been at war for a hundred years? If my world can handle constant war, then yours can handle another few months," I turned away and left the General. I headed straight for the room we were staying at. I violently opened the door and slammed it behind me, and started to pack my things.

"What are you doing?" Sokka asked from behind me.

"We're leaving," I growled. My tone stunned the boy for a moment.

"Did somethi-"

"Fong claims that I cannot relate to the suffering of the people here," I turned to face Sokka, nearly ripping my bag in two as I did. "Because I'm from a different world, I wouldn't understand the pain caused by this war. Apparently, me wanting to take the safe course of action is condemning the people of this world,"

"You need some sleep," Sokka replied in a calm voice. I wanted to punch him for his tone, but a wave of exhaustion hit me.

"I hate that general," I growled. "Thinks he has everything figured out, thinks we can just wish our problems away," I slowly crawled into my bed.

"Here," Sokka handed me my Ipod. "I'm sure maybe a tune might help with the anger," I took my Ipod from him, and lowered the volume not to disturb anyone. I hit the play button and focused on the notes that were being played. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

"Fred, wake up," I heard Aangs voice softly call me. I rose slowly, rubbing my eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You were right. Katara was right. We shouldn't try to trigger the Avatar State," Aang said. I looked at him with wide eyes. I didn't expect him to change his mind so quickly. "I want you to come with me to tell Fong that we are going to continue with our original plan," I quickly got up and jumped into my clothes. Sokka accompanied us to see General Fong, and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw him. Aang told him that he reconsidered his position, and that we were going to leave for Omashu today. Fong seemed to take this news all too well.

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?" He asked softly.

"I'm sure," Aang replied apologetically. "I can only reach the Avatar State when I'm in genuine danger,"

"I see…I was afraid you'd say that," Fong shifted slowly, and suddenly, his desk shot forward with blinding speed towards Aang. The air bender was hit by the desk that continued towards the far wall of the room. The desk burst out of the building, sending Aang outside.

"Aang!" Sokka and I cried, but the guards that stood behind us grabbed our arms. We struggled but we couldn't break free of their rock solid grips (pun intended). Fong stepped towards the hole in his wall, then looked over the edge.

"MEN! ATTACK THE AVATAR!" He yelled.

"You…" Was all I could growl at Fong. He leapt out of the room down towards Aang, and I hoped against hope that the fall would kill him. I felt the guard adjust his grip on my arms, and I decided to strike then. I stepped to the side, and slapped his grown as hard as I could. He yelped and fell to the ground, clutching his grown. Sokka must've had the same idea, because the guard that held him was also on the ground, groaning in immense pain.

"Let's go!" Sokka said as we started to run. We sprinted down the tower and outside, and there we saw Fong and his men attacking Aang with a variety of giant rock coins. The boy's agility was what was saving him, as most of the attacks missed him.

"What's going on?" Katara asked as she suddenly appeared behind us.

"Fong doesn't like being told no," I answered.

"He's trying to force Aang into the Avatar state, he's gone completely mad!" Sokka added. The boy drew his boomerang and threw it at one of the soldiers knocking him out. I ran to the right and Katara ran to the left, we each charged some soldiers who were on these bird-horse things. They were running towards Aang, so they didn't notice us coming. I drew my water and knocked one off his mount with a water whip. The next one I incapacitated by tripping up his mount, and the third I froze his face with a nice ice blast. I made sure he was not getting back up before retrieving my water. Suddenly, all the guards turned towards Katara.

"Maybe you can avoid me," Fong's voice rang out. "But she can't!" Katara quickly shot a stream of water at the general, but he raised some earth in order to absorb the moisture. Suddenly, Katara sank into the ground and was unable to escape.

"Don't hurt her!" Aang yelled. He leapt towards Fong and shot a gust of wind, but the general summoned a wall of rock to protect himself.

"Katara! No!" Sokka cried. He had high jacked one of the bird-horse things and was running towards Fong with his boomerang raised up high. The feet of him mount sunk into the earth and he was sent flying into one of the giant rock coins. Katara sank deeper into the earth as Fong moved.

"You have to let her go!" Aang pleaded, but Fong looked at him with hard eyes.

"You could save her if you were in the Avatar state!" He yelled.

"Or we could save her now!" I growled. I engulfed my fist in ice and punched the general in the back of the head. "You're completely crazy!" I yelled as I attempted to hit him again, but four rocky prongs grabbed me from every side, completely immobilising me. Katara sunk some more, and Aang continued to plead effortlessly with Fong.

"Glow, Avatar! Save her!" He cried.

"I can't, I can't do it!" Aang cried in desperation, and with that, Katara sunk under the earth. Aang leapt to the spot where Katara was, and patted the ground for a few moments. Suddenly, his tattoos began to glow.

"It worked!" Fong cheered. "It worked!" Aang slowly rose into the air, winds picking up around him as he turned to face Fong. Aang shot a powerful blast of wind at the general, sending him sprawling across the yard. Aang rose high in the air, a twister of dust extended from his waist down to the ground. Fong got back up to his feet and stepped up towards Aang.

"Avatar Aang, can you hear me?" He cried. "Your friend is safe!" Katara suddenly popped up from the earth, gasping for air. "It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State, and it worked!" Fong began to laugh like a maniac. I guessed that Aang didn't like being played like a fool, because he landed on the ground, sending out a shockwave that send everyone flying in every direction. Many of the buildings that lined the base were demolished, and the rocks that imprisoned me were destroyed. I was sent sprawling back, my body bouncing on the now uneven surface of the base's floor. Aang suddenly collapsed to his knees, his tattoos and eyes were no longer glowing. He sat and hugged his knees close to his chest. Katara ran over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. I got up and walked closer to the two of them.

"I'm sorry Katara," Aang said. "I hope you never have to see me like that again,"

"Ha! Are you joking!? That was almost perfect! We just need to find a way to control you," Fong laughed as he stepped behind us.

"I'm tired of hearing you talk," I growled. Before Fong could reply, and before I could clobber him, Sokka approached him from behind on one of the earth soldier's mounts and knocked the back of the admiral's head with his club.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Sokka asked, looking at the soldiers. They all shook their heads, looking rather happy. A soldier approached us and bowed.

"Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" He asked.

"I think we're all set," Katara smiled. Aang called Appa, and we leapt onto the bison. We quickly took off, leaving the destroyed Earth Kingdom Base behind us.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," I sighed.

"You and me both," Aang nodded.

"I guess he was a real-" I paused for dramatic effect. "Block head!" Everyone giggled at the cheesy joke.

"Why am I laughing? That's not even funny," Katara giggled.

"I got a good one, we really rocked his world!" Sokka smiled. We laughed stupidly.

"That one was better," I said. We sailed into the sky, making more puns as we flew, and laughing like children.


	12. Episode 12: The Tunnel

We stopped at a small creek one morning, Katara suggested that we brush up on our bending, and Aang seemed pleased with the suggestion. I hopped into the water with them in order to participate. Sokka didn't want to stop, but we coaxed him into relaxing for a few minutes. He found himself a large leaf that floated quite well on the water, and he laid down on it and started soaking up the sun.

"You guys are going to be done soon right?" Sokka asked as he drifted next to us. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Omashu today," Momo was sleeping on his stomach.

"What, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?" Katara mocked.

"I can be ready to go in two minutes!" Sokka replied.

"You were showing me the octopus form," Aang interrupted. Katara turned to face him and asked him to get into his stance. I decided to try it out along with him, this technique was helpful to learn how to control multiple watery tentacles at once. Katara walked up to Aang and looked at his stance.

"You're arms are too far apart," She noticed. "You need to move them closer together, to protect your centre," She came up behind him and moved his arms into their proper position. Aang's face turned into a bright red.

"Hey, don't get too excited there buddy," I laughed, causing his face to turn redder. He thanked Katara awkwardly and she moved away from him, sticking her tongue out at me.

"Ok, let's see what you got," Katara moved a few feet away from Aang and prepared to attack him. Aang created a multitude of watery limbs around him, and when he was ready, Katara started to shoot some ice spikes at him. His octopus arms deflected the ice spikes as he moved, and eventually he managed to snake one of the limbs around Katara's ankle.

"You make a fine octopus, pupil Aang," She laughed.

"That's nice, but can he block this!?" I cried. I lunged forward and sent four large tentacles towards Aang, they froze around him, piercing his octopus arms. Before he could react, I moved my hands close together, creating a web of spikes around the boy.

"Hey, I wasn't ready for that!" Aang cried.

"Nice move, what do you call it?" Katara asked as she approached my frozen tentacles that now looked hairy because of the spikes coming out of them.

"Doesn't have a name, but I've been trying to perfect the move, I first used in during the siege of the Northern Water Tribe," I answered. I lowered my arms and the ice melted, freeing Aang. When he was free, he sent a large wave of water to knock me off my feet. I found myself drenched and on my butt.

"You deserved that," Aang smiled. I grinned back at him. We started to hear the sound of music coming from the trees not far from the water. We all turned towards the shore to see who it was that was approaching us. A group of four people came towards the water, each had a musical instrument and they played music together as they walked. They all looked dirty and stoned, hair decorated their heads. The group consisted of a skinny man with stubble and a banjo, a fat man dressed in a pink kimono with a straw hat, a woman in a black dress with a flute, and another woman with long flowing hair and an extensive dancing costume. They stopped when they noticed us.

"Hey hey! River people!" The man with the banjo laughed as he pointed at us.

"We're not river people," Katara said.

"You're not?" The man seemed surprised. "What kind of people are ya?"

"Normal people?" I half answered, half asked.

"Aren't we all?" The man smiled.

Sokka stepped right up to him. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"I'm Chung, and this is my wife Willie," He pointed at the woman with the flute, who smiled kindly at us. "We're nomads, happy to go where ever the wind takes us!" He started to violently pull the strings on his guitar, making a pathetic wail.

"You guys are nomads? That's great! I'm a nomad!" Aang smiled.

"Hey, me too!" Chung laughed. Aang looked at him with a confused expression.

"I know," The boy replied. I stepped up to the nomads.

"What are you people on? I want some!" I laughed.

"We're on the ground, the dirt beneath our feet," Chung answered, stomping his feet to prove his point. This made me burst out loud.

"I can tell this is going to be fun," I grinned.

We spent some time talking with the nomads, they told us about their travels, though their stories were confused because of their mannerisms. They braided Appa's hair and made flower crowns for us, which was rather strange. Aang was quite enthusiastic about it all, and he seemed to enjoy these peoples company. Sokka was rather annoyed with the delay that these people were causing, he persisted that we left for Omashu, which led Chung to accuse him of having destination fever. Eventually, Chung told us of an old story that told of a secret passage that passed right through the nearby mountain range straight to the city of Omashu. We asked them to show us where the secret tunnel was, they happily agreed to take us. Along the way, they sung a whole collection of annoying songs, and I started to think that my initial impression of them was maybe not accurate. We eventually came to a clearing near the mountains.

"How much further is this tunnel?" Sokka asked.

"Actually, it's not a tunnel, seeing as the lovers who built it didn't want anyone to know about their love, they made a whole labyrinth!" Chung answered.

"What!?" Sokka cried.

Chung smiled. "I'm sure we'll figure it out,"

"Oh god…I don't want to be stuck with these people underground," I fearfully muttered. Katara giggled.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," She said, patting my back.

"You only need to trust in love to avoid the curse!" Chung's wife told us as she walked by. We soon came to the entrance of the maze, when Sokka asked what this curse was.

"The curse is that, if you don't believe in love, you will be forever trapped in the tunnels," Chung explained.

"And die," His wife added.

"That too," Chung agreed, smiling.

"There is no way we're going through some cursed hole!" Sokka protested. He turned around and saw a large column of black smoke rising in the distance.

"Look, it's a large campfire!" One of Chung's companions giggled.

"That's not a campfire," Katara corrected him.

"It's the Fire Nation, they must be looking for us," Sokka mumbled.

"So all we need to do is trust in love, and we'll make it out alright?" Aang asked Chung. The man turned and nodded. Aang turned to face Katara for a short moment, and then declared that we'd make it through the tunnel.

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka ordered.

"That's what she said!" I cried. Chung's gang burst out laughing.

"Still don't get it," Katara told me.

"Neither do we!" Chung giggled.

"You're all lame!" I yelled. We quickly piled into the large cave entrance and moved deeper into the tunnel. After a few moments, we heard the sounds of crumbling rock and the light from the outside world that bled into the cave entrance suddenly went out. Chung quickly lit a torch, allowing us to see in the dark. Appa began to nervously pace around, making grunts and moans.

"It's ok, Appa, we'll be fine…I hope," Katara said, touching the large animal.

"We WILL be fine, Chung, how long do those torches last?" Sokka turned to the hippy.

"About 2 hours each," He answered.

"And we have five torches, so that's ten hours!" His wife gleefully added as she lit her five torches. Sokka quickly ran over and put them out.

"It doesn't work that way if you light them all at once!" He barked. He told us that, as we moved through the maze, he would draw a map in order to keep track of where we've been. This would mean that we could work out where to go and eventually find our way out.

"I seriously doubt we'd make it out before our torches run out," I mumbled to myself. I followed the group. We walked for a good long while, and would have to sometimes double back as we'd often hit dead ends. Eventually, we headed down a tunnel we've already explored, and found that it was blocked.

"This doesn't make any sense," Sokka growled as he studied his map.

"We don't need a map, all we need is love!" Chung smiled. Sokka paid no attention to the man.

"All you need is love, love! All you need is love!" I sung, the hippy group started to play music, but Sokka shushed them.

"You're not helping," He snapped.

"I'm sorry," I laughed. Sokka studied his map for a few more moments, then turned to face us all.

"I think I know what's going on," He said. "The tunnels are changing!" As if to prove his hypothesis, the earth started to shake and the sounds of moving earth echoed in the tunnels. Everyone looked at Sokka with wide eyes, and for some reason, my mind drew the picture of a giant mole.

"The tunnels, they're changing! It must be the curse! I knew we should never have come down here!" Chung started to wimper.

"Right, if only we listened to you," Sokka growled.

"Everyone be quiet," Katara ordered. We could hear the sounds of something…growling deep in the tunnels. Before we could tell where it was coming from, a large bat-like creature flew into the light of the torch. The creature landed and I got a good look at it, it looked like a-

"It's a Wolf-Bat!" Sokka cried as the animal slowly advanced towards us. It leapt up in the air and started to fly towards Katara. Sokka jumped in front of his sister and waved his torch frantically to try to scare away the Wolf-Bat. The beast managed to knock the torch out of Sokka's hands and onto Appa's foot. The bison let out a huge cry of pain and he started running all over the place. The racket that Appa was making was enough to frighten the Wolf-Bat, but the large bison started ramming into various walls in the tunnel. The ceiling soon started to collapse, and Aang sprang into action. He blasted a gust of wind at Sokka and the hippies sending them barreling down one tunnel, I leapt out of the way from some falling rocks, but tripped and landed on my stomach. Aang ran over to Katara and managed to push her out of the way of falling rocks. I closed my eyes until the sound of the collapsing tunnel ceased. I tried to get up, but I couldn't. I looked down at my left leg and saw it crushed under a pile of rocks, despite my incredibly poor visibility. My brain quickly processed the image, and gave my body the appropriate feeling.

"AAAAAHHHH!" I yelled in pain as I finally felt my broken foot. I have never broken a bone up until that point, I was never the kind of guy to take many risks, and the pain I felt was indeed great. I was sure that bits of rocks also managed to wedge themselves beneath my skin.

"Damn…damn it…I can't move," I breathed, gulping down my cries of pain. I slowly turned towards my leg, and tried wiggling my toes. A sharp pain ran through my leg, but I knew that at least the ligaments were ok. I stayed still for a few moments, breathing.

"What is that?" I asked, feeling a stick in the dark. I couldn't see very far ahead, but my fingers wrapped around a long thin…torch. I smiled when I saw it, and then turned back to my leg. "Ok, time to get you out," I reached behind my back and drew my water, I moved a thin tentacle towards the debris on my leg and slowly began to remove it bit by bit. Eventually my leg was free, and it plopped to the ground when I pulled it out.

"OW! You son of a limb!" I cried. I quickly made and icy splint for my leg, when I was sure it was tight, I got up. Putting weight on my leg hurt immensely, but at least I could limp. I fumbled in the dark for my torch, and when I found it, I dragged it across the ground, lighting it. I could see clearly now, and saw the large cave in that Appa created. I looked for a way through the rubble, but when I saw none, I turned towards the tunnel.

"I wonder if they all made it out alright?" I asked myself, thinking about the others. "Duh they're fine, we always find each other somehow!" I slapped my forehead. But then a shadow fell over me. "But I'm not part of this world…what if I don't find a way out?" I quickly slapped myself. "Don't talk like that! You survived a siege; you can make it out of a dark cave!" I started to slowly limp forward, moving deeper into the maze. I leaned against the walls to avoid putting too much weight on my leg. I took a look at my torch, and remembered the time limit on it.

"So I have two hours to make it out of here and if I don't find my way out…I'm screwed," I told myself, trying to move faster. My mind brought the image of moles again. I wondered why my brain kept bringing that thought up when suddenly, I remembered part of the Avatar lore. Giant moles created earth bending, and the tunnels were changing, like Sokka said. So was it possible that some of these earth bending moles were in this labyrinth? I grinned at the thought. I realised that within these two hours, if I could find a mole, I could ask it to carve a way out of the labyrinth for me rather than try to figure out this maze. I moved with new strength, limping along the tunnel walls, keeping my ears opened for any sound.

I walked for a good long while with no luck. The tunnels seemed to go on forever, and my torch was dangerously close to going out. My mind wanted to break down, make me sit and wait for death, but the rational part of me drove me on.

"If this torch goes out, I'll feel my way out, I don't care how long it takes, but I am not going to die in here," I encouraged myself. My leg had become incredibly numb and swollen, but I couldn't stop to tend to the wound. My torch went out after I had tripped on a root. I desperately searched for the torch in the low light, but realised that even if I found it, it'd be out of fuel. I cursed loudly, smashing my fists into the earth. I sat there, alone in the dark for a good long while, when I heard the sounds of scrapes in the distance.

"Who's there?" I asked. I didn't get a response, but a large BOOM resonated in the tunnels ahead. I quickly got up and moved along the walls, following the sound I heard. Another BOOM resonated and It sounded much closer this time.

"Moles? Are you there!?" I cried. "I could use some help to find my friends and get out of here!" Another Boom, and suddenly a faint light at the end of the tunnel shone through. My heart thumped loudly and I started to limp as quickly as I could towards the light. I tripped when I reached the newly formed exit, the sounds of cheering surrounded me, and a giant Badger-Mole stood over me.

"Fred, you made it out too!" I heard Aang cry. The boy ran over and helped me up. "What happened to your leg?" He asked,

"Cave in," I replied. "I'm lucky that it's only broken," The Avatar told me that Katara would help me with it later, and I thanked him. Aang turned towards the Hippies, and asked them if they were going to accompany us to Omashu.

"No," They refused, and we let them go without a fuss. Katara healed my leg when the hippies left, and I was soon able to walk properly again.

"Are we lucky to have you or what?" I laughed after she pulled her hands away.

"Don't mention it, come on, we've got to go," Katara smiled as she turned to leave. We all trekked up a small mountain, and the walk felt great because it allowed blood to flow down to my foot.

"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about!" Sokka said as we approached the top of the mountain. "The destination!" He reached the top and posed like an announcer. "I present to you, the city of O-" He didn't finish his sentence when he turned. Curiously, I looked out towards the city when I reached the top, and my heart stopped when I saw the large banners that covered the city walls.

The Fire Nation had taken over the city of Omashu.


	13. Episode 13: Return to Omashu

"I can't believe it," Aang sighed as we watched the city of Omashu from our mountain. Columns of smoke rose from the city, making me believe that the takeover was recent. "I know the war has spread far but…Omashu always seemed untouchable," Aang turned towards us as he spoke.

"Up until now, it was," Sokka crossed his arms. "Now, Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom Stronghold left,"

"This is horrible," Katara agreed, "but we have to move on,"

"No," Aang replied. "I'm going in to find Bumi,"

"It's worth a shot," I agreed. "If we can get him out, then we'll have not only save Aang's teacher, but a powerful earth bender that could later fight against the Fire Nation,"

"We don't even know if he's still…" Sokka didn't finish his sentence.

"If he's still what?" Aang snapped.

"Here," Sokka answered.

"I know you've had your heart set on Bumi, but there are other people around to teach you earth bending," Katara added.

"It's more than just saving your teacher isn't it?" I asked Aang. "You two were good friends,"

Aang nodded. "I can't abandon him, I'd never forgive myself if I did, and we are going to save Bumi,"

Aang took us below the city, in the large trench that circled Omashu. There was a small secret tunnel that he told us about that we could use to sneak into the city undetected.

"A secret passage?" Sokka asked as Aang was working to remove the metal grate that covered it. "Why didn't we use this the last time we came here?"

Aang managed to open the passage and a large amount of sewage water came pouring out, dowsing us. "Does that answer your question?" The Avatar laughed. He jumped into the tunnel, leaving us to clean ourselves. We followed Aang who was using air bending to shield himself from the disgusting liquid. Katara and I used our water bending to protect ourselves, but Sokka wasn't so lucky. Eventually, a small nagging feeling crept in the back of my mind, and I found myself reaching in my pocket for my Ipod.

"Oh no!" I cried in panic. Everyone turned towards me.

"What is it?" Katara asked.

"My battery is less than 20%!" I cried. They gave me odd expressions. "That means my Ipod will die soon!"

"You are more worried about your music player instead of Bumi?"Aang growled.

"No, it's just…I'll explain later," I sighed, putting the Ipod back into my pocket. We eventually reached a man whole that Aang opened for use using a gust of air. We emerged out of the sewers when Aang gave us the all clear.

"That wasn't so bad," Katara said as she climbed out.

"I don't think my nose will forget the experience any time soon though," I sighed as I pulled myself out. It was now night time, making me realise just how long we were walking in sewage water. Sokka came up behind us, and he was drenched in sewer water. Katara quickly dowsed him with water from a nearby barrel, and Aang dried him off with a water blast. Sokka had two small purple octopus on his cheeks. When he noticed them, he started to scream and tried to pull them off. Aang tackled the boy and ordered him to be quiet.

"They're just purple pentapus," Aang told him. Sokka nervously gazed at the two small creatures on his cheeks. Aang reached forward and tickled the small creatures, causing them to let go of Sokka. As we were helping him check for more pentapus, we were interrupted by a loud "Hey!"

Three Fire Nation guards were walking towards us. Aang quickly grabbed a piece of nearby cloth and placed it around his head to hide his Tatto.

"What are you kids doing here past curfew?" One of the guards asked.

"Nothing sir, I just came out to retrieve my siblings, I'll be taking them back home now," I smiled as I wrapped my arms around my friends and started to pull them away.

"What's wrong with him?" One of the guards asked, pointing at Sokka who had marks from the pentapus' suckers on his skin.

"He has pentapox," Katara lied. The guard turned Sokka around to get a better look at him. Sokka then slowly moved forward, moaning like a zombie.

"I'm dying!" He groaned as he moved.

"It's highly contagious and deadly!" Katara warned. The guards backed away from the boy.

"Didn't your cousin die from pentapox?" One of the guards asked his friend.

"We should go wash our hands," Another said.

"And burn our clothes!" The third added. The ran away from us, leaving us in the dark.

"I wish every troop in the Fire Nation was that gullible," I sighed. We continued to move through the streets, staying low and making as little noise as possible. Momo was espeacially quiet as he hugged Aang's shoulders, I guessed that the little guy sense the need for stealth. We came to a small pile of beams and crouched behind them as a Fire Nation soldier walked by, yawning.

"Let's find Bumi, and get out of here," Katara whispered.

"Where would they be keeping him?" Sokka asked.

"Somewhere he can't earth bend," Aang answered.

"You mean like in a metal box hanging in the air?" I suggested.

"Then he shouldn't be too hard to find," Sokka nodded. We continued to move, and we eventually came to a small path along the angled wall of a building under construction. We slowly moved along the walls, and down below, in the streets, I could see a small group of soldiers escorting a young dark haired girl and a woman with a baby.

"That's curious isn't it?" I asked, pointing at the group below. Before they could answer, we heard the sound of rock sliding against rock. We turned and saw boulders descending the wall towards the escort. Aang reacted quickly and smashed the rocks with an air blade, saving the group. The women turned towards us, and the one with the baby pointed at us with fear.

"The resistance!" She cried. The other women pulled out small knives and threw them at Aang, who jumped over them onto a small block behind him.

"This is not good!" I cried as we turned to run. The guards below started to climb up the wall towards us on ladders that the workers must've left for the night. Katara acted quickly and sent them back down with a quick lash of water. However, the woman with the knives made it up before Katara could attack and threw some spikes. Katara created an icy shield and started to run after us, away from the pursuing woman.

"Keep going!" I cried, spinning around and throwing three icy needles. The woman moved around my projectiles and threw her own spikes. Aang jumped in front of me and quickly spin his staff, catching the sharp objects.

"This is really not good," I moaned. Before the woman could throw another set of deadly objects, the floor beneath our feet lowered into the earth like an elevator. The floor above us closed up, sealing us into darkness. We looked around our new surroundings, and found ourselves surrounded by earth benders, they smiled at us, and one dressed in a soldiers uniform stepped forward. He introduced us to the "resistance" as they called it. The earth bending soldiers of the city were trying to retake control of Omashu through guerilla warfare, but so far, things were not going well. Aang asked if Bumi was leading the resistance, but we were told that he surrendered to the Fire Nation before a fight could break out between his forces and the forces of the Fire Nation.

"He was trying to save the lives of his people," I laughed. "He really is a mad genius,"

"It doesn't matter now," The soldier leading the resistance sighed. "Fighting the Fire Nation is the only thing we can do for our freedom, and that's worth dying for,"

"Actually, there is another path to freedom," Aang said. "Leave Omashu," The soldier looked at Aang with wide eyes. "You're directing all your energy to fighting the Fire Nation, but you're outnumbered! You can't win, now is the time to retreat so you can live to fight another day,"

"You don't understand!" the soldier replied. "They've taken our home!"

"I don't know Yao," The man standing at his left side said. "Living to fight another day is sounding pretty good to me,"

"I'm with the kid!" Another man agreed. Soon, the crowd who was near us started to talk amongst themselves, considering the idea of evacuating the city.

"Fine," The Yao agreed after a moment of silence. "But there are thousands of people we need to evacuate, how are we going to get them all out?"

"Suckers!" Sokka cried.

"What?" I asked.

"You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox!" Sokka grinned.

It tooks us all night to gather enough of the pink creatures from the sewers for everyone. Sokka's plan was to trick the city into thinking that it's citizens needed to leave due to a deadly illness. That morning, everyone was placing the pentapus creatures on themselves in various locations, to have the marks that the suckers would leave. After everyone was all pentapoxed up, Sokka instructed them on how to behave like they were sick.

"Alright everyone!" Sokka cried after showing them how to act. "Into sick formation!" We all started to move with the crowd, but Aang didn't follow. Katara turned back towards him.

"You're not coming with us?" She asked.

"No, I have to find Bumi," Aang answered.

The Avatar leapt away before I could offer my help. The girl turned and smiled when she saw my outstretched hand.

"Maybe next time," Katara laughed as she patted my shoulder. I sighed and followed the crowd, moving and moaning like the zombies I've seen on various shows and in various video games. We slowly shambled towards the front gates of the city, and a large group of guards were standing there, keeping watch. The noticed us coming, and were quick to jump to the conclusion that a plague had begun to spread. The quickly opened the gates for us to exit the city, and everyone was slowly lead outside Omashu. The guards never suspected that the illness was fake, the plan was working perfectly. We found Appa and hid somewhere near Omashu with the crowd, out of eye sight. Eventually, at night, Aang found us, and informed us that he did not find Bumi. Yao approached us.

"We have a problem, we just did a head count, and we have an extra," He pointed at Momo, who was a few feet away from us. A small child held on to the lemur, grinning and giggling.

"I saw that kid!" I gasped, remembering the woman with the baby and her knife throwing friend. We sat down around a campfire and discussed what to do with the kid.

"Aren't you cute?" Katara giggled as she played with the child.

"He may seem cute now, but when he's older, he'll join the Fire Nation army, he'll be a killer," Yao growled.

"Or he might turn to be a completely normal human being," I countered. "Not everyone in the Fire Nation is blood thirsty you know," Before Yao could respond, a messenger hawk flew towards us, cawing. Aang pulled the message out of its pack and read it.

"It's from the Fire Nation governor in Omashu," He told us. "He thinks we kidnapped his son, he wants to make a trade for…" He paused when he read the last bit.

"A trade for?" I asked.

"For king Bumi!" Aang gasped.

"This is…surprisingly perfect," I gasped. We slept the rest of the night to gather some energy for the following day. That morning, Aang met up with us with the kid.

"You do realise this is probably a trap right?" Sokka warned us.

"I don't think so," Aang replied. "I think the governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi," We climbed onto the bison and flew into Omashu. We landed near the construction site of what appeared to be a large statue. There we stood waiting, and trying to look as cold and heartless as possible. Ahead of us, three figures seemed to rise from the earth as they climbed the steps that lead to the platform, and my heart stopped.

"Oh no…" I whispered as I saw Asula, the woman with the knives and her other friend. I may not have remembered much from the show, but those three never left my memory. I leaned close to Aang. "This is really, really bad," I warned him. He must've misunderstood me, because he gave me an odd stare.

"What do you mean?" He whispered.

"The parents aren't here…that means this might not go as smoothly as planned," I muttered. We heard the sound of Bumi laughing, we looked up and saw a metal coffin being lowered from the top of the statue under construction. Bumi greeted us gleefully, and he was lowered behind the three girls.

"You brought my brother?" Mai, the girl with the knives, asked.

"He's here, we're ready to trade!" Aang answered.

"I'm sorry, but a thought just occurred to me, do you mind?" Azula smiled as she stepped forward.

"Of course not, princess Azula," Mai politely bowed.

"We're trading a two year old for a powerful earth bending king," She paused for a moment. "It just doesn't seem like a fair trade,"

"Don't you dare-" I begun.

Mai stepped forward. "The deal's off!" She cried. Bumi was slowly raised into the air.

"See you all later!" The old king laughed.

"Go Aang!" I cried, stepping forward and shooting a ball of water towards Mai. Aang sprinted forward and Azula kicked a large blue inferno towards the Avatar. The flames evaporated my water, but Aang jumped up out of the way and opened up his glider. The cloth he's been wearing since last night fell from his head and revealed the tattoo. Azula's eyes widened when she saw the blue arrow. She quickly ran into the construction zone and grabbed a wire. She cut another rope somewhere and suddenly shot up towards Aang. Meanwhile, Mai and her friend, Ty Lee, were sprinting towards us. Katara and I stepped forward in our fighting stances.

"We need to get the baby out of here!" Katara cried. Sokka was already blowing on Aang's bison call.

"I'll take the girl with the pony tail, you take care of the-" I turned around and saw Katara and Sokka running away with the kid. "Or you can take the kid somewhere safe, then help me out," I sighed as I chased after them. Sokka suddenly tripped, and nearly fell off the platform. Out of a small hole in the floor, Ty Lee sprung up and ran towards the downed boy who was clutching the child protectively.

"I'll get her, you take care of dagger lady!" I cried as I ran by Katara. I heard the sound of breaking boards behind me and knew that the two had begun their fight. I shot a small watery tentacle at Ty Lee's ankle and grabbed her. I violently yanked her back, sending her flying onto the platform away from Sokka. "I'm your opponent," I growled as I stepped towards her. She swiftly flipped up on her feet and smiled confidently. She ran towards me, and I stepped back, creating an ice sword. I swung at her when she got close, but she slid under my attack. She rose behind me and moved her hands towards my shoulders. I quickly crouched down and elbowed her stomach, pushing her back.

"That's right, I'm a bender and I know martial arts!" I laughed as she stared at me in surprise, then she giggled.

"This is going to be fun!" She laughed and ran towards me again. I spun and lashed at her with my water, but she had really good reflexes and she managed to slide and dive over and under my attacks. She came close again and punched at my face. I slipped to the right and retaliated with my own jab. She moved and punched me in the stomach with more force than I expected, making me gasp for air. Before she could follow up her attack I shot a blast of water in her direction, causing her to jump back to avoid my attack.

"You're like a fish," I wheezed. "You're so slippery I can't catch you," I looked up and saw that Ty Lee had changed her attention to Katara. Katara had managed to freeze the right arm of Mai, and couldn't protect her back. Ty Lee pocked some pressure points on the benders shoulders, and the ice suddenly melted.

"This is really bad," I groaned as I got up to my feet. Mai was ready to throw some daggers at Katara, but a familiar blue boomerang knocked the weapons out of the girl's hands. Appa landed in front of us and blasted the two girls away with his tail. Sokka helped us onto the bison and we took off.

"Where's Aang?" I asked.

"He's on the slides with Bumi, that fire bender is after him!" Katara answered. We flew for just a few seconds, and we caught a glimpse of a large blue flame.

"There he is!" Sokka pointed as he guided Appa towards Aang. We flew next to the air bender who was deflecting blasts from Azula. Aang was standing on Bumi's coffin, using it like a cart, Azula was on a regular cart, chasing our friend down the slide. She fired a few blasts at us, but Appa managed to dodge them. I fired a few water balls, but my aim was poor and I didn't ever come close to hitting her. She managed to knock Aang and Bumi off the slide, and they landed on a later portion of the rail they were on.

"We can meet them down there!" Sokka told us. He was pointing at an old building that stood at the end of the track.

"Sounds good to me," I said. Sokka flew us around in a wide circle, not wanting to get shot at again. We eventually made it down to the far end of the building which turned out to be a hangar of some sort. Aang jumped onto Appa, but Bumi wasn't with him.

"Where's Bumi?" Katara asked him.

"He's not coming with us," Aang answered. "He said he is needed her, we'll need to find another teacher,"

My mind froze when he said that, a memory of a certain character crept into my mind.

"No way…" I breathed.

"What is it?" Sokka asked me.

"Nothing! I'm just surprised!" I replied, turning red in embarrassment. The gang looked at me with raised eyebrows, but they let their suspicions drop.

That night, Aang returned the child to the governor, not wanting to steal away their son. After her was done, he met us and told us that it was time to leave.


	14. Episode 14: The Swamp

I don't know how we ended up over a swamp, but there we were, flying over the dense a humid landscape below. Momo would often nervously glance down below over Appa's saddle, his curious eyes studying the trees and watery soil.

Katara and Sokka kept to themselves, the boy was sharpening his machete while his sister studied one of Aang's water scrolls. Our pilot was also quiet, his gaze aimed down at the swamp. Slowly, we started to glide down.

"Why are we going down?" I asked. Katara and Sokka looked up from what they were doing and noticed our descent. Sokka turned to Aang.

"I hope you're bringing us down for a reason," Sokka said. Aang didn't respond in any way. "Aang!" Sokka cried. This snapped Aang to attention.

"What?" He asked. He looked around and saw that we were going down. "I didn't notice," He mumbled.

"Are you noticing now?" Sokka asked.

"What's the problem?" Katara asked.

"Guys, I know this is going to sound weird, but-" Aang started.

"But you feel like the swamp is calling you?" I asked.

"How did you know?" Aang asked.

"I didn't, but I've seen enough tv to know what most people would say in a situation like this," I answered.

"Is it telling you where we can find food?" Sokka asked as his stomach growled.

"No…I think it wants us to land there," Aang responded slowly.

"No offense to the swamp, but I don't see any land to land on!" Sokka remarked.

"Bumi said that in order for me to learn earth bending, I'd have to listen to the earth, do you want me to just ignore it when I can hear it?" Aang asked, turning towards us.

"Yes!" Sokka answered, looking nervously over the edge.

"I don't know, there's something ominous about that place," Katara agreed.

"Oh, what's the worst that can happen? It's not like there are giant tentacle monsters down there!" I laughed. "I mean…the bugs will be annoying but-"

"Bugs? Ok, we're definitely not landing!" Sokka cried. Appa growled and Momo nervously chirped. "Even Appa and Momo don't want to go!" Sokka remarked.

"Ok, if everyone feels so strongly about this, Yip yip!" Aang pulled us higher into the air, away from the swamp. The sound of gushing wind soon reached my ears, and when I turned around to see what was making that sound, I gave a large yelp.

"TORNADO!" I cried. "Take us down!" Aang ignored my request, but he pushed Appa to move faster. The tornado seemed to move with us, as if it was chasing us.

"Aang, can we please go down?" I begged. "I think this whole swamp thing really wants us to land!" My words were carried away by the powerful winds, and soon I began to feel rather light. Momo was clutching the side of Appa's saddle, trying not to get sucked into the tornado. Sokka started to lift off, but Katara and I grabbed him before he could be sucked into the twister.

"Help!" Sokka cried loudly. Aang heard him and leapt towards us. He created an orb of wind as a shield against the tornado. Sokka came back down into the saddle, and Momo ran into my shirt. Our orb was slowly engulfed by the twister. Aang's face contorted as he tried to keep up our shield, but the winds of the twister were too strong, and his orb was ripped apart. We were all violently flung from Appa and into the air. Momo managed to get sucked out of my shirt (but he did leave a rather extensive décor of claw marks on my stomach). We were violently thrown from the tornado and into the swap. I felt branches and twigs cut at my limbs as I fell, and soon I crashed into the water below. We all got up, and I saw that everyone had small cuts and scratches from the trees, but we were surprinsigly unharmed. Aang was the only one of us standing, as he was able to soften his fall with his air bending.

"Where's Appa and Momo?" He asked us. We didn't have an answere. The Avatar climbed up a tall tree to look over the swamp.

Sokka stood patiently, and I suddenly noticed something large on his elbow.

"Sokka, you have an Elbow Leech," Katara said.

"Where!? WHERE!?" Sokka panicked, turning towards us.

"Where do you think?" She grumbled. The boy grabbed the parasite and pulled it off.

"Why do things keep attaching to me!?" He cried as he threw the leech away.

"Because, you're our comic relief," I laughed. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I'm not comic relief!" He protested. He turned to his sister who was trying to hide her smile. He hope shattered. "I am!?" Aang came down before anyone could utter another word.

"You couldn't find them?" Katara asked the Avatar.

"No, and the tornado, it just disappeared," Aang answered.

"It's the swamp I tell you, it's EVIL!" I said, putting emphasis on the word evil.

We started to move through the swamp, ducking and weaving our way through the branches, vines and twigs. I had to remove a few leeches and slap a few bugs away, it wasn't very fun.

"Let's speed things up," Sokka eventually cried as he pulled out his machete and started to hack at the plants in our way.

"Maybe we should be a little nice to the swamp," Aang suggested, trying to get Sokka to stop hacking at the plants.

"Aang, these are just plants! Do you want me to say please and thank you as I swing my machete back and forth?" Sokka replied.

"Well we were hit by a supernatural swamp twister, I don't think we'd want that again," I muttered.

"I think you should listen to Aang," Katara stepped towards her brother. "This place feels alive,"

"I'm sure there are a lot of things that are alive here, and if we don't want to get eaten by them, we need to find Appa and get out of here," He turned back to cut more vines in our way.

We walked around the swamp for hours, looking for Appa and Momo with no luck. The swamp eventually became dark as the sun set, and soon it was night.

"Appa! Momo?" Katara called for the thousandth time.

"There is no way they can hear us, and no way we can see them, we'll have to make camp for the night," Sokka stopped on a root as he said this. I heard the buzzing of mosquitoes fly by, and Sokka slapped his cheek. We joined him on the root, when we suddenly heard a large watery burp.

"What was that?" Katara asked. We looked over the root and saw a faint cloud of gas rise.

"It's just swamp gas, nothing supernatural," Sokka assured us. The gas reached us, and the smell of rotten eggs invaded our nostrils. We all let out a unanimous disgusted groan.

"This is why I hated camping, There were bugs everywhere, the smell of some animal's feces and got knows what else," I grumbled.

"We need a fire," Sokka said. He ran over to some roots and started to cut them up.

"Sokka, the longer we're here, the more I think you shouldn't be doing that," Aang said as he approached our machete wielding friend.

"No, I asked the swamp, it said it was fine," Sokka joking grabbed a nearby twig. "No problem Sokka!" Sokka squeaked as he shook the twig.

"We need the smoke to get rid of these bugs, and the light might catch the attention of Appa and Momo," I sighed. Aang glared at Sokka and I as we grabbed some wood in order to make a fire.

We managed to get a small fire going. We fed it wood and, seeing as this was a swamp, a lot of it had moisture. The moisture created smoke which chased away the bugs that swarmed us.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that we're being watched?" Katara asked us.

"Please, we're all alone out here!" Sokka yawned. Suddenly, a large white orb of light formed between us, it hovered for a moment and flew off deeper into the swamp. We followed it with our eyes, and saw a plethora of shining eyes in the trees above.

"Well…should we follow the orb of light?" I asked. I turned towards my companions who were all huddled together. "Oh come on! If they didn't jump on us yet, what makes you think they'll do it now?" I asked, pointing at the eyes in the trees. I turned back towards the orb, but it had vanished. Slowly, we huddled together, and eventually, we all fell asleep.

I found myself back at home, in my room, sitting in front of my friend.

"I told you not to make a deal with a man in a top hat!" He growled.

"Not this again!" I groaned. "I'm already transported, it's too late now!"

"You're already transported…oh, right, I'm your subconscious!" My friend laughed. "So why are we talking again?"

"I don't know, I thought you'd give me a hint or something," I replied.

"Ah…will you be able to get your hands on a severed arm?" He asked me.

"I don't think I'll have the opportunity," I replied. "Wait, why do you want me to get an arm?"

"Let's just say that, when I was brought back, the man wanted my liver," He answered. "I coaxed him into letting me keep my liver by giving him an arm I happen to have uh…found"

"Why do I get the feeling that you didn't just find that arm," I ask.

"That's not important! My point is, he's going to want something from you, so you need to find a way to trick him when the time comes!"

"How am I going to cheat him on the deal? You gave him something in the end anyway!" I cried.

"That's up to you, but from what I gathered, he isn't exactly the brightest person around," My friend replied. He then looked at me square in the eyes. "It's time to wake up now,"

I slowly opened my eyes, and was greeted by the feeling of something slithering around my body. I looked down and saw a…green tentacle wrapping around me.

"AH! NO GOD, PLEASE NO!" I cried, memories of the various hentai images I've seen sprung to the forefront of my mind. I was dragged away from my friends. And they two were wrapped in tentacles. We were all pulled into separate directions into the swamp. I quickly struggled against the pull of the tentacles, and managed to draw my water. I quickly sliced away the tentacles that held me and started to run away. More of the slimy green vines came after me, encouraging me to move faster. I ran as fast as I could, and eventually I managed to get away from the tentacles. I found myself alone in the swamp, and separated from my friends.

"Katara!? Aang!? Sokka!?" I called. No one answered me. "Of course no one answers me, I'm lost!" I sighed. I trudged through the swam, slapping bugs away and wishing to find some sort of relief from the insects. As I walked forward, a glimmer caught my eye. I turned towards it, and gasped.

A man in a dark expensive looking three piece suit stood there. In his right hand was a cane with a large diamond at the tip. He had a large top had and an evil grin. His sunglasses covered his eyes, and he gestured for me to follow him.

"No way…I gasped," I slowly stepped towards him, and as I did, he moved away. I started to run towards him, and suddenly he vanished. "What the…" I turned and saw the man again.

"I don't want you to be late," He grinned. "I figured out what I want,"

"Who are you!?" I cried. He grinned.

"Come! Come here, you need to find your friends!" He disappeared behind a tree. I quickly ran to where he went, and saw no one. The man was now on a branch, whistling for my attention. I followed him, and soon I came to a clearing in the trees.

"Where are you!?" I cried. I heard the sounds of tumbling to my left and turned. I saw my friends, all sprawled on a trunk.

"Guys! What happened?" I asked them.

"Isn't it obvious? We were attacked!" Sokka replied.

"How did you find me?" I asked. "Did the man in the top hat lead you here?"

"Man in the top hat?" Sokka asked.

"I saw a girl in a fancy dress," Aang replied.

"And I thought I saw mom," Katara added. I froze.

"You mean…those were hallucinations?" I asked.

Sokka cleared his throat. "Look, we were all just scared, and hungry, and our minds were playing tricks on us," He said nervously.

"You saw someone too?" I asked.

"I thought I saw Yue, but that doesn't prove anything!" He looked at all of us. "I think about her all the time, and you saw mom, someone you miss a lot," He pointed at Katara as he spoke.

"What about me?" Aang asked. "I didn't know the girl I saw,"

"And let's just say I'm not too fond of the man in the hat," I growled. "He's someone I just want to forget,"

"Not to mention that we were all lead here," Aang remarked.

"Ok, so what's here?" Katara asked.

Aang turned to face the clearing. "It's the middle of the swamp," He said. "It's the centre," He turned again, and this time, he guided our gazes to a massive tree.

"Holy cow…That's huge!" I cried.

"It's been calling us here!" Aang smiled.

"It's just a tree!" Sokka groaned. "It can't call anyone!"

"So you believe in spirits, ghosts and reincarnation, but talking trees just don't fit in that world view?" I asked.

"That's different!" Sokka snapped. "For the last time, there is nothing magical happening here!"

Suddenly, a large tentacle monster burst from the water on our left. We turned and gazed at the 10-foot tall monstrosity. I looked at its skin and realised that they were vines and not tentacles. It wore a wooden mask for a face, it was carved into a permanent grin. We all started to run and scream as the monster reached for us. We all dove out of the way of its first strike, but it's vines grabbed Sokka. He started to cry for help as he was raised into the air.

The monster started to smash Sokka into the water over and over again. Aang jumped near the monster and cut off its arm with a blade of wind, freeing Sokka. The vine monster turned its attention to Aang and shot one of its arms at him. I quickly drew my water and followed Aang's example by cutting off the limb that was headed towards him. The monster drew its attention back at Sokka, who was trying to crawl away. I regrew its arms and grabbed the boy, and then it sped off into the swamp. Aang and I chased it, but Katara beat us to the monster. She shot a blast of water and cut the shoulder of the beast, causing it freeze in place as it closed up its wound. It started to swipe at Katara with its free arm, trying to swat away the girl as if she were an annoying fly.

She blasted the vine monster with a large wave, sending it tripping backwards into a tree. She then proceeded to charge it, but another arm sprung from its stomach and threw Katara away. She went by us as we ran towards the monster, her cries momentarily distracting us. We turned back at the monster and we were swatted away by an arm. Sokka struggled against the hold of the beast, but he was too weak to break its grip. Slowly, the arm that held Sokka retreated into the body of the vines, and the boy disappeared inside the monster.

"We are really getting our butts kicked," I growled as I rose to my feet. The monster started to move away from us.

"I'm going after it," Aang said as he created an air scooter. He blasted off after the monster.

"We're coming too!" I cried after him. Katara joined me as I started to run after the boy.

"Use the water to move faster!" She told me as she sped forward, half skating and half gliding over the swamp floor. I followed her example and grinned as my speed picked up dramatically.

"I wonder if that water tornado could work too," I thought out loud, remembering how Pakku would create a water tornado that extended from his wait to the floor in order to travel quickly. I decided not to try it yet, seeing as I might mess up and loose Sokka as a result. Aang caught up to the monster and dodged it's attacks. He ended up on its head after quickly scurrying around its body. He spun and a small tornado enveloped the creature. The vines tangled up, and the monster was trapped by its own body. Katara leapt onto a nearby root and blew on the body of the creature, freezing some vines. I noticed that Sokka was there. Katara then created a watery tentacle and stabbed it through the creature, sending Sokka flying out the other side of it.

I decided to help with my own attack. I created four tentacles and shot them at the monster. Before they hit it, I froze them. I heard them stab into the creature, and with a quick hand motion, I created more icy spines from my tentacles, effectively trapping the monster.

"Good job team!" I smiled. My ice suddenly shattered, and the monster healed itself.

"It's not over yet!" Aang cried as he leapt by me. He smashed the creature in the back of the head with an air kick, causing it to fall on its face. It rose up and swatted Aang to the side. Katara started to roll her arms, and soon she created razor sharp water rings, and throwing them at the creature. I joined in with her, sending my own rings to help her cut up the vines. The monster could barely hold together with our combined assault, it continued to fall apart faster than it could rebuild itself.

"There is someone inside, bending the vines!" Sokka cried from behind us. We continued to slice away at the vines in order to expose the "pilot". Aang jumped in front of us and blasted the rest of the vines away with his air.

"Why did you call us here if you just wanted to kill us?" Aang demanded.

"Wait!" The man cried as he rose to his feet. "I never called you here," He said.

The native man lead us to the center of the swamp, and told us that he protected this land from people like Sokka. He told us that the tress here were actually one huge organism, stemming from the central tree. We learned that the swamp was a mystical place, and that it showed us people we met and lost. I wondered why it showed me the man with the top hat, but then a realised that it probably wasn't the swamp showing him to me.

The man went on to say that the swamp was like the world. We were all connected like the trees being from the same organism, and I laughed when he made the allegory.

"I've never heard that put that way," I laughed. "But you're right, we're all connected together by our actions,"

Aang asked about the girl he saw, and the man told him that it was probably someone he was going to meet in the future. Long story short, Aang did some sort of mind meld with the tree and found Appa and Momo. We quickly ran towards them, and found a whole group of swamp dwellers with them. I guessed they "hunted" them because the two were in nets and being dragged away. After a quick attack on them, we learned that they were water benders. Our fighting quickly stopped, and they gave us our friends back. They invited us to their village for the night, and we all ate around a campfire. I managed to get the courage to eat a few bugs, and truth be told, it wasn't half bad.

We rested well that night, and I was excited for the next few days, because I was certain that soon, we'd meet a new member of the family.


	15. Episode 15: The Blind Bandit

I was feeling rather good that morning. The previous day's events were thoroughly entertaining. We ran into a town during our journey, and these people there really detested the Avatar. Aang spoke against their "Anti-Avatar" day and he was instantly blamed for killing their great leader many many years ago, in a previous life. Aang then agreed to stand trial (not the brightest move on his part but I didn't say anything) and he was quickly found guilty of the crime. As fate would have it, before Aang could be executed, a group of Fire Nation soldiers came to attack the town, and Aang was offered freedom if he protected the villagers from the raiding soldiers. After the small battle, we were celebrated like heroes and given a few supplies and money.

We now found ourselves in a large Earth kingdom city. We were in the markets, looking for anything we might need or could use, and we soon found ourselves in front of a bag that Sokka was contemplating on buying.

"It's kind of pricy," He muttered for the third time.

"Then don't buy it," His sister said.

"I really do like it though," Sokka countered.

"Then you should buy it, you deserve something nice," She sighed.

"I do don't I?" He happily cried. Then he paused and sighed. "But no, it's too expensive. I-"

"Oh for crying out loud, you're worse than a woman who's shopping for clothes!" I cried." You either buy it or you don't, make up your mind and let's go!"

"Ok!" Sokka smiled as he pulled out some money and exchanged it for the bag. We finally left the market and were headed towards Appa, when a man whispered to us.

"You kids like earth bending?" He asked us. He handed us a flyer. "If you do, then check out Yu's earth bending academy!" Aang took the flyer and looked it over.

"I think this might be it!" He smiled. "Plus, this coupon makes the first lesson free one!"

"That's a coupon?" I asked. He turned at me and showed me the flyer.

"Why, yeah, can't you read?" He asked.

I blushed in embarrassment. "No, not this text, this isn't English," I quickly said.

"Oh…" Aang paused for a moment.

"Well, maybe we can teach you later," Katara turned to Aang. "I think you should go, it might be what we've been looking for,"

We rushed over to the academy, and Aang was swiftly inserted into a class. While he was inside playing with pebbles, Sokka, Katara and I stood outside and waited for him.

"Is it true you're illiterate?" Sokka asked me.

"In this world I am," I answered, turning red.

"Sokka, don't tease hi-" Katara begun.

"Wow, I've never met someone who couldn't read, how do you order food at a restaurant? Or know where to go for a meeting? Or-"

"Do you want me to freeze your lips shut?" I asked.

Quickly, Sokka stopped talking and leaned back against the wall. Katara shot him a glare.

"What?" He whispered. "I'm just curious,"

"Curiosity killed the cat," I mumbled. I was sure he understood the metaphor, because his face turned pale when he heard me. Soon, the students of the academy came pilling out of the building. Aang came to us covered in dirt.

"He's not the one," He said, and signalled for us to leave. Before we could leave, we overheard some students talking about some sort of fighting tournament that was happening tonight.

"Excuse me, but where is this earth bending tournament exactly?" Aang asked the two students.

"It's on the island of Nunya," One said.

"Nunya business!" The other added. They laughed and turned away and continued walking.

"I'll take care of this," Katara grinned. She chased after the boys and disappeared behind a building. She came back in about three seconds with a large grin.

"You ready to find an earth bending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble Six!" She grinned.

"How did you get them to tell you?" Aang asked.

"Uh Aang, that's something I'd rather not know," I nervously laughed. "She'll say she had her ways and leave it at that, god knows what she did to coax the information out of them,"

Katara blushed a bright red and stuck her tongue out at me, causing me to laugh. We continued to shop around until nightfall, then we followed a small crowd of people to a mountain just outside the city. There was an arena in the mountain, and everyone sat around a large slightly elevated platform where the fighting would take place.

"Hey, front row seats!" Aang guided us to our seats. "I wonder why no one is using them,"

I was about to make a joke when I turned towards the arena in time to see a large boulder headed straight for me. I let out a blood curdling scream and was violently silenced by the boulder. It was a miracle that I took little damage from the rock, and I had to struggle for some time before it fell away, freeing me. They asked if I was ok, and I responded by saying that I'd be changing seats.

"Welcome, to Earth Rumble Six!" A long haired and muscular announcer cried from the center of the arena. I sat behind Aang, knowing that if any debris flew towards him, he'd deflect it. "I am your host, Xin Fu!"

"Ugh," Katara sighed. "This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other isn't it?"

"That's what I paid for!" Sokka grinned.

"The rules are simple, just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" Xin Fu cried. He then leapt up to a tall platform that reminded me of a lifeguard chair for some reason. This platform gave him full view of the ring, allowing him to be both a proper host and referee.

A large burly man stepped onto the ring. He wore pants and a green belt with gold studs. He had a large tattoo on his back and his hair was tied back.

"Round one! The Boulder versus the Big Bad Hippo!" Another man stepped onto the stage, and he looked like a summon wrestler. He stepped forward and growled like an animal. The fight begun and the Boulder quickly defeated his opponent after a short fight. Katara turned to Aang.

"How about asking the Boulder to teach you? He's got some good moves," She asked.

"I don't know, Bumi said I need a teacher who listens to the earth, he's just listening to his big muscles. What do you think Sokka?" Aang turned to the water tribe boy. Sokka was cheering madly like the crowd, completely ignoring Aang's question.

"Sokka agrees," I said, leaning close to Aang and Katara so they could hear me. They giggled a little.

The battles continued, and Sokka was always cheering for the Boulder. With every round that the Boulder won, Sokka's cheering grew louder and louder. I was quickly getting bored with the whole spectacle, it was a repetitive "Round whatever, the Boulder versus some guy!" followed by a quick three second scrap and the Boulder flinging his opponent off the ring. Eventually, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight shined on Xin Fu.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for," He grimly said. I turned towards the ring and saw a new spotlight shining on a small girl. My eyes widened when I recognised her.

"The Boulder versus, your champion, the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu cried, and I just gave the loudest cheer in the audience.

"YAAAAAAH! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOOODDD!" I cried. Toph was probably my favorite character in the series, so I was, naturally, very excited to finally meet her. My companions turned to me.

"That was uh…" Aang begun.

"Very enthusiastic," Katara finished.

I coughed a little to clear my throat. "I've just always wanted to see a small girl get uh…beaten by a large muscular man," I said. I cursed myself for how stupid that sounded, and my companions just turned away, giving each other odd looks. We turned back to the ring, and Toph was holding up a large Earth Kingdom wrestling belt. Two women accompanied her, and took the belt from her, leaving her in order to allow her to fight.

"She can't really be blind, right?" Katara asked. "I mean, it's just part of her character,"

"No, she's blind," I said.

The Boulder nervously stepped forward. "The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a small blind girl." He said, referring to himself in the third person.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!" Toph teased. The Boulder gave an odd face.

"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rockalanch!" He cried. I laughed at the word rockalanch.

"Whenever you're ready, pebble," Toph laughed. Aang looked at her with wide eyes. I leaned over to him.

"She's so cool," I whispered.

"uh, yeah…she is," Aang answered. I doubt he heard me.

The Boulder stepped forward and was about to step down with his other foot when Toph acted. She quickly slid her right foot forward and sent a small mound of dirt towards the oncoming sole of the Boulder. He stepped on the mound which carried his foot over to the side, making him fall into the splits.

Sokka gave a disappointed gasp, and the Boulder howled in acute pain.

"I guess he didn't do his stretches before the match," I laughed. No one heard me, or they didn't think my stupid joke was funny. Toph stepped forward again, and slashed her arm. Three rocky prongs slammed into the Boulder, sending him over the ring.

"You got him good girl!" I cried when the crowd was silent in shock. She seemed to turn slightly at my comment, but she chose to ignore it. Instead, she threw her fist up in the air, and smiled, as was custom in these contests.

"The Blind Bandit is still your champion, folks!" Xin Fu cried.

"How did she do that?" Katara asked.

"She did it because she is a bad a-" I began.

"She listened!" Aang interrupted.

"To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering this sack of 500 gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced as he leapt down next to Toph.

"Does that mean I can use water bending!?" I cried. He turned towards me and paused.

"Uh…not really," He replied. "This is a rock bending arena,"

"I will!" a familiar voice cried. I looked around and Aang was absent from his seat, and down on the ring.

"When did he go there?" I asked. Katara shrugged. The crowd cheered lightly, but not much.

"Do people really wanna see two little girls fighting out here?" Toph laughed. The crowd gave a loud "oooh!"

"I don't really want to fight you, I want to talk to you," Aang said. The crowd started to boo him.

"Aang, that's not what you say when you ask to face someone!" I cried. Aang took a step forward, and Toph attacked. Aang easily hovered over her attack. As he glided in the air, Toph started to look around, trying to find him. When he landed, her head snapped towards him.

"Somebody is a little light on his feet," Toph remarked. "What's your fighting name? The fancy dancer?" Aang gave a small friendly shrug, but Toph quickly made a pillar of rock rise from beneath his feet. He jumped again, hovering towards another part of the arena.

"Where did you go?" Toph asked. Aang landed again.

"I just want to talk," He said. Toph quickly spun around and threw a boulder at the boy. He shot a gust of wind and managed to not only deflect the rock, but to throw Toph off the arena. Xin Fu had a dumbstruck expression on his face, and Katara and Sokka smiled at each other.

"This isn't good," I sighed. I got up and started to run down towards the arena. Aang was begging Toph to be his teacher, but she disappeared into the wall of the stadium.

"Aw, I wanted to talk to her too," I cried. I turned to Aang. "You're so lucky man,"

Aang returned to collect the money and the belt, but he didn't look too happy about it. We left the Arena and headed back to Appa for the night. After we woke up the next day, we headed back to the Earth Bending Academy in order to interrogate the students in order to find out where Toph lived. The students at first had no answers, but when Aang mentioned seeing a flying pig in the swamp, they quickly pointed us to the Bei Fong estate.

We asked around town for directions to the estate, and we quickly found it. The estate was surrounded by a large wall that encased a rather large piece of land. Over the front…gates was the image of a flying boar. Aang grinned and told us that the boar was the same one from his vision in the swamp. We snuck over to the wall, away from the main gate in order to avoid the guards. We climbed over the wall and into the large yard of the Bei Fong estate, and sneakily we would hide between various bushed and decorative plants to avoid being spotted.

While hiding behind a tree, we were violently shot into the air by the earth beneath us. We all hit the ground hand, and when we got up, we saw Toph. She was dressed in a fancy dress, and her face was painted with make-up. The look didn't suit her at all.

"What are you doing here Twinkle Toes?" She demanded from Aang.

"How did you know it was me?" Aang asked.

"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes, it's not manly!" Sokka cried.

"Hey, if she's giving the name, it's more than manly," I laughed getting up.

"And the fan boy is here too?" Toph asked turning towards me.

"I instantly regret cheering for you," I squeaked. She turned back to Aang.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Well, a crazy king told me that I had to find a teacher that listens to the earth," Aang answered. "And then I had a crazy vision in a magic swamp, and-" Toph's face contorted with disbelief, and with good reason. If someone came to me talking about magic swamps, I'd be skeptical too.

"Aang, she doesn't believe you," I sighed.

"What he's trying to say is that he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earth bending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord," Katara said. Toph shot a hand out in her direction.

"Not my problem," She answered. "Now get out of here, or I'll call the guards!"

"You call guards? Couldn't you just make us leave on your own?" I asked. I was instantly shot over the wall. "Not to self, don't piss her off," I groaned as I got up. My companions soon crawled over the wall and joined me. "So what's the plan?" I asked. Aang stayed on the wall for a few seconds, and then he came down to meet us.

"How do you like the idea of eating with a rich family?" He asked us.

Well, after knocking on the front door, and waiting for a few minutes, we were invited into the home of the Bei Fong family. We were lead to the mansion and into a large room with a large dinner table. It took me a while to notice, but everything in this house was large, even the chairs and decorative pots. We sat in silence as we ate with the family, I could sense Toph's nervousness, but she kept a good calm exterior.

"In your opinion, Avatar, how much longer do you think the war will continue?" Toph's father asked.

"I'm hoping to defeat the Fire Lord before the end of the summer, but I can't do that without finding an earth bending teacher first," He answered, leaning towards Toph. The girl's eyebrows slightly twitched. I felt like a creep as I observed her, but I was confident that no one noticed, least of all Toph.

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land, he's been teaching Toph since she was little," The master of the house smiled, pointing at the earth bending teacher who, for some reason, was here.

"Then I'm sure she must be a great earth bender!" Aang smiled. He was suddenly hit by something from beneath the table. Toph gave a polite smile, and ate in silence.

"Toph is still only learning the basics," Yu said. Toph's father nodded.

"Yes, sadly, because of her blindness, she will never become a true master," We all froze when we heard Mr. Bei Fong's words.

"That's not true," I said, speaking for the first time. Everyone turned to me, and Toph's face contorted in a mix of plea and fear. "I mean, where I come from, there was a famous blind musician who could play better than most people, his blindness didn't stop him from becoming a master at his craft. He didn't let his handicap stop him from realising his true potential, I think Toph can do the same," I laughed.

"But earth bending is nothing like music, you can get injured, or even killed," He father responded coldly. I rose my hands in defense.

"If you want to hold her back, that's your choice, but I wasn't only talking to you," I turned to Toph. "There is no shame in become what you want to become," I smiled. He father was shooting daggers at me, but I kept my smile. Toph turned away, looking relieved.

"I'm blind," She answered, turning so I could see her pupil-less eyes. "I will never become a great earth bender," He father smiled at the words.

"I'm sure you can be if you-" Aang started before his chair violently moved forward. His head fell into his soup. He looked up and gave a large air bender sneeze, the plates on the table flew and his Yu and Toph. The girl got up with an angry expression on her face.

"What's your problem!?" She yelled.

"What's your problem!?" Aang replied.

The Bei Fong family were smart in moving us to the living room, avoiding a potential scrap between Aang and Toph. We were offered a place to stay, which we gladly accepted. We were lead to a guest room, and we all started to get ready for the night. Toph eventually turned up and asked to speak with Aang in private. The two left, leaving Sokka, Katara and I alone.

"So, Fred, I couldn't help but notice how you were watching the Blind Bandit all throughout dinner," Katara laughed. I think that I turned into a bright shade of red, realising that I wasn't as subtle as I thought. "And those words of encouragement, you really are a true charmer," She laughed.

I quickly flicked my wrist and sent a streak of water to her lips, freezing them shut.

"I think that's enough from you," I said. Katara unfroze the water and laughed loudly.

"Did I hit a nerve?" She asked.

"I was simply trying to encourage the daughter of the Bei Fong family to pursue her dreams," I replied with mock humbleness, trying to look like I didn't think a lot of the whole "meeting Toph" thing.

"Right, didn't you cheer like a mad man when she came onto the arena?" Katara asked. "So it was love at first sight," I growled and stepped out of the room to go for a walk, leaving the laughing girl behind me. "Guess I deserved that," I sighed, remembering when I made fun of Katara for looking at Aang after the Aunt Wu event. I suddenly heard the sound of rumbling outside. I'm sure Katara and Sokka heard it too, because they came rushing out of their rooms.

We started to search the grounds, along with Toph's parents, for Aang and their daughter. We eventually found a note impaled on a small sword in the middle of what looked like a small battle ground.

"Whoever took Aang and Toph left this," Sokka said as he handed the not to Katara.

"If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena," Katara read. "It's signed by Xin Fu and the Boulder,"

"No way," Sokka breathed. He took the parchment. "I HAVE THE BOULDER'S AUTOGRAPH!" He cried in glee.

"Master Yu," Mr. Bei Fong turned to the earth bending teacher. "I need your help to get my daughter back,"

"We're coming with you," Katara said.

"Poor Toph," Mrs. Bei Fong cried. "She must be so afraid,"

"Hmm…I don't know," I said. "I get the feeling your daughter is more angry than afraid right now,"

We quickly headed towards the arena with the money that Aang won from the fight with Toph. We arrived and saw Xin Fu and the Boulder standing alone with Toph and Aang suspended in the air in metal boxes. We threw the money at them, and Toph was lowered and released. She ran over to her father, who pulled her close and begun to walk away with his daughter and Fu.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked.

"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar, now get out of my ring!" Xin Fu growled.

We got ready to fight, when suddenly, the various fighters of the arena jumped onto the ring and surrounded Xin Fu. It was a total of 7 opponents, versus Katara and I, who could water bend, and Sokka, who would probably die within the first few seconds of this fight. Needless to say, the odds were not in our favor.

"Go, I'll be fine!" Aang told us. Katara and Sokka backed away, but I stayed behind.

"I'll make sure they stay here," I smiled at the siblings. I then turned back towards the earth benders. "But this is surely going to hurt," I mumbled. My memory was going through the lessons I had with Pakku, how to slice hard things with water, and how to move in order to dodge and attack at once.

"You're going to fight all of us at once?" The Boulder laughed.

"I don't think I'll be alone for long," I grinned, when the sound of Katara begging for Toph to help reached my ears. I drew some water and quickly shot a small stream at the Boulder's face. I stung him in the forehead and he grunted in annoyance.

"The Boulder is going to enjoy squashing you like the little fly you are!" He growled in annoyance as he stepped forward. I quickly shot an ice ball at his face, which only caused it to rock back. He grinned and stopped the ground. The earth beneath me began to rise in the air. I leapt off the patch of land beneath me onto the arena as the Boulder threw it. I rolled forward and sent a watery whip at his face. I smacked him, but again, I had no effect other than reddening his skin a little. The Boulder loomed over me.

"This was a bad idea," I sighed.

"The Boulder agrees," He smiled. The next thing I knew, I was flying into the walls of the arena.

"Good effort on your part, but you don't have what it takes to deal with them," A voice said. I looked up and saw Toph and the water tribe siblings walking by.

"I softened them up for you," I groaned at the aches in my body. She smiled in amusement and headed up onto the arena. I soon heard rock breaking and crumbling, signalling that Toph had engaged the earth benders. I crawled onto the stage and made my way over to the metal box that held Aang. Sokka and Katara were busy trying to open it.

"Let me help," I said. I pulled out a bit of water and I froze the lock on the box. Sokka hit it, and the lock broke.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Katara asked.

"I'll be completely honest with you, I don't know, sensei," I answered, bowing.

"Sensei?" She asked as she helped Aang out of the box.

"Yeah, it means-"

"I know what it means," She smiled. "I'm glad to see you consider me as your master," She laughed.

"You are superior in the art of water bending after all," I grinned.

Aang just about leapt into the battle to help Toph, but Sokka stopped him, pointing at the girl who was busy beating the living snot out of the earth benders. After about half a minute, Toph had eliminated all of her opponents.

"Good going girl," I laughed, stepping next to Toph.

"If only I could say the same to you," She smiled. I paused, and Sokka burst out laughing.

"That was a good one!" He giggled.

We quickly escorted the Bei Fong family back to their estate. There, Toph spoke with her parents.

"I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way, but the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me," She said. She looked up at her father. "I love fighting, I love being an earth bender! And I'm really, really good at it!" She smiled. "I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you've been keeping me a secret from the whole world, you were doing it to protect me, but I've never had a real friend," She paused. "I hope this doesn't change the way you feel about me,"

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you Toph!" He father answered. "It's made me realise that I've allowed you to have far too much freedom!" Everyone in the room fell in shocked silence. "From now on, you'll be guarded and cared for 24 hours a day!"

"You can't be serious!" I growled, smashing my fist on the floor. "Toph here is the greatest earth bender you've ever seen in your life, and you want to take that away from her? She isn't helpless, and she isn't weak, she beat those guys when I could barely do a thing against them!" I stood up. "You're forcing her to become something she is not, well you two should be given awards for the most over protective parents of the decade… Scratch that, CENTURY!" I turned to Toph. "You make up your mind, you have the power to leave whenever you want, you either come with us, or stay here like a locked prisoner,"

"I've had enough of you!" Mr. Bei Fong growled. "Guards, escort them out of my home! The Avatar and his friends are no longer welcome here!" We were lead out of the building, our heads hanging low. We found Appa near a hill overlooking the estate.

"I should've pummelled him," I sighed.

"Yeah, you should've," Sokka agreed. We turned to Katara and Aang, who were looking at the estate.

"We'll find another teacher," Katara said. "There a plenty of amazing earth benders out there,"

"Not like her," Aang sighed. We all started to climb onto Appa to leave. Before I could get up, we heard the sounds of breathing and footsteps from behind us. Toph was running towards us with a large smile.

"Toph? What are you doing here?" Aang asked.

"This is great!" I cried, giving her an enthusiastic hug, I quickly let her go when I sensed Katara's eyes scanning me.

"Yeah, my dad changed his mind, he said I'm free to travel the world," She grinned.

"Then we'd better get out of here, before your dad changes him mind again," Sokka almost laughed, sensing her lie.

"Good idea," She agreed.

"You're going to be a great teacher Toph!" Aang smiled.

"Speaking of which, come down here I want to show you something," Toph said. Aang hoped down, but was instantly shop up into a tree when he landed. "Now we're even," The girl maliciously grinned. She reached up towards Sokka. "I'll take the belt back,"

Sokka grabbed the belt and tossed it down to Toph. Seeing as she literally didn't see it coming, she was hit in the head and felt to the ground.

"Sorry," Sokka said.

"7 earth benders can't beat you down, but an inanimate belt knocks you on your butt?" I asked with a laugh. I received a rock in the stomach. "I can see this relationship going well," I groaned in pain. We climbed onto the Bison, and soon we were off towards new adventures with a new family member.


	16. Episode 16: The Chase

I never mentioned how inconvenient it is when you come from another world and you need to answer the question "Where do you come from?" Toph asked about us as we traveled, wanting to learn as much about us before dedicating herself to traveling with us, so eventually she asked me about my home and where I came from. I didn't want to be rude and dodge her question, but at the same time, I knew how absurd my answer would sound.

"I uh…" I started. "I'm not from…around here," I said.

"Well that's obvious," Toph replied.

"As in…not from this world," I added. Toph gave me a quizzical look.

"It's true, we didn't believe him at first but he proved it to us, show her your music player," Sokka said.

"She's blind," I replied.

"I can still touch it," She replied. I handed her my Ipod and she ran her fingers over it. "What is it exactly?"

"Do the words 'music player' not make it obvious?" Sokka asked. Toph returned my Ipod to me.

"I'll believe it when I hear it," She laughed. I was one step ahead of her, I choose one of my many dubstep songs and played it. Toph instantly started to grit her teeth when the music began.

"Nothing like this in your world," I said, shutting off the music.

"Fine, I believe you," Toph replied, waving her hand in my direction. I noticed some of Appa's hair flying off the Bison, and realised that he was shedding. We landed in a nice wooded area, and we all dismounted from the animal while unpacking our stuff.

"You guys picked a great camp spot!" Toph exclaimed. "The grass is so soft," She rustled Appa's hair which had shed onto the ground all around us.

"That's not grass, Appa's shedding," Sokka said.

"Aw, gross!" Katara exclaimed.

"How is a bunch of hair on the ground gross?" I asked.

"It's just a part of spring, you know? Rebirth, grass grows and Appa gets a new coat!" Aang explained.

"Ah, the beauty of spring," Katara sarcastically sighed. Appa gnawed at his hair, pulling out clumps. Some got into his nose, causing him to sneeze. A lot of hair was thrown up into the air, Katara started to beg the bison to stop shaking to no avail.

"It's not that bad Katara, it makes a great wig!" Sokka smiled as he created a huge afro with Appa's hair.

"And a great beard!" Aang added as he landed next to Sokka with a large white bison beard.

"How is it sticking onto you like that?" I asked, smiling.

"I'm glad we have another girl in the group because you two are disgusting," Katara muttered. Toph came up between Sokka and Aang.

"Excuse me, does anyone have a razor? Because I have some hairy pits!" She raised her arms to reveal a lot of Appa's hair shoved under her arms. Sokka and Aang started to laugh hysterically. Even Katara giggled a little.

The sun quickly disappeared behind the trees, and we started to prepare our camp. I was helping Sokka and Aang pitch up tents while Katara was getting our pots ready to cook some food. Toph on the other hand laid on her back, being as useful as a rock on the side of the road. I didn't mind so much, seeing as, by now, I was used to the four of us pitching up camp, but Katara didn't feel the same way. She walked over to Toph to ask her to help us pitch camp.

"So, Toph," She said. "Usually when we set up camp we try to divide the work," Katara said.

"Don't look at me, I'm good to go!" The earth bending girl replied.

Katara continued to try to get her point across, but this only angered Toph.

"I don't understand what's the problem here!" She cried. I walked over.

"What's the problem here?" I asked. Both girls turned away from one another saying "never mind," I stood there awkwardly. "Ok then…I guess I'll get started on the food, Toph, you want anything in particular?" I asked her.

"I'm fine," She replied with venom.

"Alright, you're getting what everyone else is getting, potatoes and rice," I turned away and headed to our pots. I got a fire going and swiftly cooked our food. We all ate together, well, everyone except Toph who was still in her tent made of earth. I picked up a plate and walked towards the tent.

"Hey, hope you don't mind me bringing your meal," I said. "You weren't around the campfire so I decided to bring your plate here," The front of the tent closed up, sealing Toph away from me. "Or you can politely refuse the food and sleep," I said nervously, I turned away and gave her share to Sokka who greedily ate it. Once that was over, we each went into our tents and fell asleep.

"There is something coming towards us!" Toph's cries woke me up, and in response I let out a loud animalistic grown. "Is he ok?" She asked, pointing into my tent.

"He does that, what is it?" Aang asked.

"It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche," She replied, putting her hand on the ground to better feel the vibrations in the earth.

"Your powers of perception are frightening," Sokka sarcastically cheered.

"Should we leave?" Katara asked.

"I'm not waiting for any of you," I groaned with sleepiness. I was already packing things up and throwing it on Appa's back. We managed to get packed in record time (2 minutes, the fastest we've ever packed up a fully unpacked campsite) and were soon flying in the air. Behind us, in the distance, was a large black column of smoke heading towards us.

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"I'd rather not find out," I said. "It's probably the Fire Nation tracking us," Then a thought hit me. "Do you know what would suck?" I asked.

"What?" Toph asked.

"If it was those three girls we met at Omashu," Toph gave a quizzical look, but everyone else had shivers go down their spines.

"Who?" Toph asked.

"For once, I'm hoping that it's just normal Fire Nation soldiers," Sokka muttered.

"Why?" Toph asked.

"I really don't want to face them again," Katara agreed.

"Hello? I don't know what you're talking about," Toph piped up again.

"Later Toph, story for another day when we're not in danger," I replied.

We flew for a good long while, losing the column of smoke behind us. We all started to feel the need for sleep, and we all started to develop rings around our eyes. We found a nice patch of land and quickly landed on it. Toph leapt out of Appa's saddle and onto the dirt.

"Oh land sweet land!" She cheered. "See you guys in the morning!" She started to walk away.

"Actually, can you help us unload?" Katara asked.

"Why would we unload when we're this tired?" I asked. "Just give me my sleeping bag and I'll be knocked out in three seconds," I yawned. Katara shot me a glare that looked like it could kill me.

"You want me to help unpack Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag?" Toph asked, looking disgusted.

"Well yeah, and everything else!" Katara stepped towards her.

"Look, I didn't ask you to help unpack my stuff!" Toph replied.

"I would help if you asked me to!" I cried.

"Shut up!" Toph yelled at me. I quickly closed my mouth, and she turned back to Katara. "I'm carrying my own weight,"

"That's not the point! Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful!"

"Uh, guys," Aang started.

"What!? Look here sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earth bending, so don't you talk to me about being selfish!" Toph sat down and created an earth tent.

"Sugar Queen!?" Katara cried. Toph slammed a door in her face. "D…Did you just slam the door in my face? How can you be so infuriating!?" Katara started to bang on Toph's door.

"Should we do something?" Aang asked Sokka and I, who were just standing there, watching the spectacle.

"I'm just enjoying the show," Sokka replied.

"I'll talk to Toph, you can talk to Katara," I said, stepping forward with Aang.

"Ok, you both need to calm down," Aang said, with his hands up. Katara violently spun around, looking like a crazy cat lady.

"I'm completely calm!" She cried. Aang backed up slowly.

"Go for a snooze," I told Katara, who gave me a violent glare, but stepped away from Toph's tent. When she was gone I turned towards Toph's tent.

"Hey, do you want to talk?" I asked.

"Why are you here again?" I heard Toph respond.

"Because I thought I should maybe try to understand what's going on?" I asked nervously. Toph's door came down.

"I'm carrying my own weight, but she doesn't think it's enough!" She growled.

"Ok…well…how do I put this," I sighed. "No one here denies that you aren't carrying your own weight or are capable," I said. Toph's features relaxed.

"Oh right, you talked to my dad about that," She said in a more relaxed tone. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Well, we're asking you to become a part of a group, and that means everyone helps everyone with everything," I said. I sensed that Toph was going to explode at me, but I made a sound to silence her. "When I brought you your food last night, it was because I was serving food for everyone, not just you. No one here is getting special treatment," I looked at her. "Just because you're blind doesn't mean we pity you, you destroyed 7 earth benders a few days ago, I think that's more than enough evidence to show that you can take care of yourself," I got up and started to walk away.

"When I say 'don't hesitate to ask for anything' I don't mean it in a 'I will be taking care of you' way, I mean it as a friend," I stepped away, leaving Toph alone in her tent. I laid down my sleeping bag and closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep.

We only managed to get a few moments of sleep when Toph came rushing out of her tent. "That thing is back!" She cried. I moaned as if I was dying. "Wake up!" She cried.

"How far away is it?" Sokka asked. "Maybe we can close our eyes for just a few minutes and-"

"I don't think so Sokka," Aang replied, pointing at the column of smoke rising from behind the trees a ways away from us.

"They are persistent, I'll give them that," I groaned as I got to my feet. We quickly flew away on Appa, speeding away from that thing that was chasing us.

"Seriously, what is that?" Katara asked.

"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph asked.

"I don't know, but this time, I'll make sure we lose it!" Aang said.

"Somehow, I doubt we'll avoid it for a long time," I grimly said. Appa sped up, and we quickly lost that thing. We flew for miles, until we ended up at a mountain range. Appa landed on a small flat mountain, and fell to his side. We were all thrown off.

"Ok, no unpacking, let's just sleep," Sokka suggested.

"That's good, because Toph wasn't going to help anyway," Katara growled.

"Oh, I didn't realise baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed," Toph snapped.

"This again?" I groaned. "Can't we settle this later?"

"Let's just get some rest please?" Aang begged. "We don't even know who or what's after us,"

"It could be Zuko, we haven't seen him in a while," Katara suggested.

"I doubt it's him, he never had a steam blowing machine on him before," I disagreed.

"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.

"Just some angry prince with a pony tail who's tracked us all over the world," Sokka explained.

"What's wrong with pony tails, pony tail?" Katara smirked.

"This is a warrior's wolf tail!" Sokka countered.

"You want to know who I think it is?" I said. No one answered. "It's those three girls,"

"No, it can't be, they never chased us before," Aang said.

"Yeah, but the worse always happens to us, and the one who shot the blue fire seemed pretty crazy, so yeah, I see her chasing us," I paused for a moment. "Anyway, that's my two cents, good night,"

"Who are those three girls?" Toph asked.

"One throws knives and moves super-fast, the other is even quicker and can block us from using our bending, and the third is some crazy fire bender who shoots out blue flames as opposed to red ones," I replied.

"I wouldn't know the difference between blue flames and red ones," Toph said.

"The blue ones are hotter than the red ones," I said.

"I'll be sure to gauge how much a regular flame hurts and compare it to the more intense burning," She laughed.

"Everyone, just…shhh!" Sokka said. Momo climbed onto his stomach, his chirping was rather extravagant. "No Momo, shh!" Sokka said. The lemur jumped off him and started running around in a panic.

"Oh no," Sokka moaning, burying his face into the dirt. "Don't tell me,"

"What did I tell you all?" I said, getting up.

"That's impossible, there is no way they could've tracked us!" Aang cried.

"I can feel it with my own two feet!" Toph replied.

We walked to the edge of our mountain platform and saw the black column of smoke coming up towards us. The smoke was being produced by some sort of train.

"We should leave," Katara suggested.

"Maybe we should face them, who knows? Maybe they're friendly?" Aang asked with little hope.

"Always the optimist," Sokka groaned.

The machine pulled up in front of us, its side facing us, and the cart that it dragged started to open.

"Guys, if we are about to fight, we are at a major disadvantage," I said in a concerned voice. "We haven't slept at all, and they probably are in top shape,"

"We can take them," Toph assured me. The door opened and Azula and her friends emerged from the cart. The trio were ridding lizards.

"We're doomed," I sighed. "It's the trio,"

"We can take them!" Toph repeated. "It's four on three!"

"Actually, Toph, there's five of us," Sokka pointed out.

"Oh, I didn't include you because, you know, no bending and all," The girl laughed.

"I CAN STILL FIGHT!" Sokka yelled.

"So it's three on four plus Sokka," Toph corrected herself. She moved her arms and created obstacles that moved towards the three girls. Their mounts easily avoided or climbed over the rocks.

"We wanted to find out who they were, and now we found out, let's go!" Sokka cried. He sprinted over to Appa and climbed onto the Bison's back. Toph created a giant wall of rock in order to block the oncoming trio, but Azula blasted a large whole in the rock with a lightning bolt.

"She can shoot lightning!?" I cried when the memory of her abilities came to me. Mai threw a few knives at Toph, who jumped onto Appa in order to avoid the attack. I quickly climbed on after her along with Aang and Katara and we took off. As we flew up, Azula charged another lightning strike and shot it towards us. Time seemed to slow down as the bolt headed straight for me. I quickly pulled out my Ipod and held it in front of me. Her lightning bolt hit my device, and the force sent me rolling back and almost off the Bison. Sokka grabbed me and pulled me back on.

"Are you ok?" Katara asked me. I looked down at my Ipod, surprisingly, it didn't seem damaged. Curiously, I turned it on, and yelped when I saw the screen.

"What is it?" Toph demanded.

"My Ipod is charge up to 100%!" I cried. Everyone was silent. "I know, I didn't think it'd work either!" I laughed.

"I don't even want to know," Sokka sighed. "I'm too tired,"

We continued to fly, the night sky shining above us, and the earth rolling beneath us.

"I can't believe they followed us all the way from Omashu," Katara sighed.

"I still think we could've took them," Toph mumbled.

"Are you insane? What part of one can take your bending away did you not understand? Those three are lethal!" I cried. "And one can shoot lightning!"

"How can a fire bender shoot lightning?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a very advanced type of fire bending," I answered. "Because, if benders control one of four elements, then she couldn't possible control two, so lightning might be connected with fire," Something caught my eyes in the horizon, it was the rising sun.

"Oh no! The sun is rising, we've been up all night with no sleep!" Sokka cried.

"We'll be fine," Aang said.

"Are you sure!? I've never not slept before, what if I fall asleep now and something happens? Something always happens!" Sokka panicked.

"Don't worry about it, this isn't my first all-nighter. We'll stop being tired in a few minutes," I replied.

"How can you be so sure?" Sokka exclaimed.

"I'm feeling less groggy right now," I replied. "The sun does that to you,"

"Besides, if we land, those girls will find us, we'll just have to keep flying," Katara added.

"We can't fly forever," Aang turned towards us, dark rings hung under his eyes.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," I replied after yawning.

"What's the plan?" Aang asked us.

"Don't know," Toph answered. "Too tired to think,"

We sat in silence for a few seconds when suddenly we started to fall towards the earth. I managed to grab onto Appa's saddle before rising too high up.

"What's going on!?" Toph cried.

"Appa fell asleep!" Aang answered. He moved in front of the bison's face. "Wake up buddy!" He screamed.

The trees below were coming up to meet us at an alarming speed, but a grunt from Appa was heard and we violently stopped falling. We lunged forward and rammed through trees into a crash landing. We all took deep breaths, and once again, the bison was asleep. Aang crawled off the animal.

"Appa's exhausted," He observed.

"Alright, we've put a lot of distance between us and them, the plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and to get some sleep," Sokka suggested. We all thought it sounded like a good plan.

"Of course we could've gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues," Katara mumbled.

"WHAT!?" Toph screamed.

"For god's sake! Stop this already!" I cried.

"We're all exhausted, let's just get some rest!" Aang added.

"No!" Toph replied. "I want to hear what Katara has to say, you think I have issues?" Toph turned to Katara.

"I'm just saying, maybe if you'd have helped out earlier, maybe we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep, and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!" Katara nearly yelled.

"You're blaming me for this!?" Toph exclaimed.

"No no! She's not blaming you!" Aang protested, jumping between the two girls.

"Oh I'm blaming her!" Katara countered.

Toph threw Aang out of her way and stepped up to Katara. "Hey! I didn't ask you for didley doo da, I carry my own weight! Besides, if there is anyone to blame it's sheddy over here!" Toph cried, pointing at Appa.

"Oh god, can we not play the blame game?" I pleaded.

"What? You're blaming Appa?" Aang asked.

"Yeah! You want to know how they keep finding us?" She pulled some of Appa's shedding hair from his back. "He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"

"How dare you blame Appa? He save your life three times today!" Aang cried.

"People! Can we please stop yelling at each other!" I yelled. I was unfortunately ignored. I was beginning to wonder why Sokka wasn't intervening.

"If there is anyone to blame it's you!" Aang yelled, pointing at Toph. "You're always talking about how you're always carrying your own weight, but you're not, he is! He never had a problem flying when it was just the four of us!" Toph turned away from Aang and started walking .

"I'm out of here," She mumbled as she picked up her bag.

"Wait!" Sokka protested, running in front of her, but she moved him out of the way with her bending.

"Toph! Don't go, we're all tired and not thinking straight, I'm sure he didn't mean it!" I cried, running towards her. "Just come back and we'll-" I grabbed her arm as I spoke, but I was rewarded with a rock to the stomach. It was a rather powerful blow. I collapsed to the ground, groaning.

"Why?" I wheezed weakly. "It's supposed to be Sokka who gets hurt, not me,"

"WHAT DID I JUST DO!?" Aang cried after a few moments of shocked silence. "I just yelled at my earth bending teacher!" He lowered his gaze to the ground. "Now she's gone,"

"I know, We're all just trying to get used to each other…and I was so mean to her," Katara sighed sadly.

"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks," Sokka agreed.

"Why has no one helped me up yet?" I gasped, holding my aching stomach.

"We need to find Toph and apologize," Katara said, helping me on my feet.

"Ok, but what are we going to do about the giant metal tank full of ladies chasing us?" Sokka asked.

"They are following a trail aren't they?" I asked. Aang smiled back at me.

"So we'll give them a trail to follow," He grinned.

We found a nearby river with which to bathe Appa. The large bison was in heaven as we poured water on him, brushed his hair, and slowly removed the excess hair off of his body. It took us a few minutes, but soon, Appa was all clean and ready to fly in stealth mode.

"Are you sure he'll be good to fly?" Katara asked.

"He'll be fine as long as we leave our stuff here," Aang answered. "I'll make a trail of the girls to follow while you three look for Toph," With that, we jumped onto the Bison and took off. We accidentally knocked the ends off of a few trees, but we didn't think much of it. I was beginning to feel more awake at this point, but my brain screamed for some sleep, while my body operated like it normally would. I was beginning to wonder where Toph was, but something told me she was alright, and that we'd find her in one piece.

"When I find her, I'm going to make her pay for hitting me," I sighed.

"What? Wasn't the whole idea of finding her to apologize to her, and not hit her?" Katara asked.

"Hey, I'm not going to hit her or anything, that'd be suicide, I'm just going to make her feel bad about it…or something," I mumbled.

"What? Are you hurt that she rejected you so soon?" Katara giggled.

"The warranty wore off a while ago," I replied, commenting on her teasing me.

"Guys, focus!" Sokka said. "We need to find Toph, she couldn't have gotten far so- OH NO!" He cried. We looked down and saw Ty Lee and Mai chasing us on those lizard mounts. "They're following us!" He cried.

"How did they find us!?" Katara gasped.

"The trees we knocked off! They must've split up!" I replied.

"Appa! Go faster!" Sokka cried.

"He can't, he's too tired!" Katara observed. Sokka looked around for anything in the land we could use to separate us from our pursuers, he then spotted a river. He directed us towards it, and Appa managed to glide over it to the other side.

"We did it! We're safe!" Sokka exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I replied. "We never get off this easy,"

Just as I had predicted, our pursuers' mounts could run on water. The lizards looked quite silly as they rotated their legs onto the surface of the river. Katara acted quickly and sent a large and powerful wave at Ty Lee, but the girl leapt off her lizard before the wave struck her. She landed in front of Katara and tried to jab at one of her pressure points, but Katara moved back, avoiding her fingers.

Mai soon arrived on the shore, I had forgotten about her when Ty Lee landed. She threw some arrows at Katara, but Sokka deflected them with his club. I leapt beside Katara and shot off a few water disks at Ty Lee, pushing her back.

"You help Sokka, I have a score to settle with her," I growled. Katara didn't reply, she simply jumped away as I created a small watery ball.

"You want to fight me again?" Ty Lee asked in a playful voice.

"It won't be like last time, I'm tired, I'm cranky, and I am going to make you pay for ruining my night," I grimly chuckled. I created a few ice spikes and shot them in an arc at Ty Lee. As I expected, she leapt into the air over them towards me. As she came to land in front of me, I quickly made a small ball of water in my right hand and blasted her square in the chest when she was still in the air. The blow sent her back a few feet, and she clutched her chest in surprise.

Katara and Sokka were working together to keep Mai at bay, Katara was shooting her with water while Sokka was protecting her from the woman's projectiles. I turned my attention back to Ty Lee who was running towards me. She threw a jab for my shoulder, and I raised my arm to move her hand off course. I suddenly felt my legs being swept away from under me, and I started to fall. I was very thankful for Paku's training then, because I managed to use the movement of the fall to draw some water from my gourd and shoot it up towards Ty Lee's face.

Her reflexes were unfortunately quite good, so she leaned out of the way of my blast and poked my left arm, making it fall numb. I landed on my back, with a cry. I kicked my legs and nearly connected with her knee, but she jumped back. I got back up, ready to continue fighting with my remaining arm.

"I'm going to make you pay for that," I muttered. "Maybe not now, but eventually, you'll pay,"

"I'd like to see you try," Ty Lee giggled. She jumped behind me and moved to take out my other arm. I spun around, grabbing her hand into my armpit and giving her a hard head-butt. I'll admit, it probably wasn't the smarted thing to do as I then had a massive head ache, but Ty Lee seemed equally, if not more dazed from the blow.

"I told you," I gasped. "I took martial arts," Ty Lee seemed angry about the fact that I managed to get two hits on her, she moved much more quickly this time, a little more clumsy than her unnaturally precise and deadly self, but she managed to take out my limbs in 2 seconds after a few quick jabs. "Agh! Why didn't you do that earlier?" I gasped in surprise. The woman moved to help her companion, and soon Sokka and Katara were fighting both of them. Ty Lee took out Sokka's arms while Mai pinned Katara to a nearby tree.

"How are you guys doing?" Sokka asked.

"Oh you know…" Katara replied.

"Just…hanging on," I finished.

Ty Lee and Mai stood together victoriously. "I thought that when Ty Lee and I would finally catch you guys, it'd be more exciting," Mai sighed. "Oh well, victory is boring,"

I noticed Appa getting up, and turning his back to the girls, a grin spread across my face.

"Hey girls, think fast," I laughed. They turned and were suddenly struck by a large and powerful gust of wind from Appa's tail. They flew into the river and were swept away by the current. I looked at Appa with a smile. "Glad to see you finished your power-nap,"

"Thanks, I don't know what we'd do without you," Sokka smiled at the bison, who moved over to him and gave him a big lick.

"Guys, I just noticed something…Where was the third girl?" Katara asked us. We paused.

"I forgot about her," Sokka sighed.

"Same here, shall we go help Aang?" I asked like a high class noble.

"Indeed," Sokka agreed. We piled onto Appa and headed back to where we bathed him in order to find the fake trail laid by Aang. We quickly found it, and we followed it towards an old abandoned town that looked like it belonged in a wild western film. We heard the sounds of fire blasts and air gusts as Aang was busy fighting Azula. We landed in front of a burning building and Katara jumped off the Bison in order to help Aang who was probably inside. I turned to look up the street and saw Zuko on the ground, flat on his back.

"Sokka, you help Aang, I'm going to go help Zuko!" I cried.

"Help Zuko!?" I heard Sokka exclaim from behind me as I jumped off Appa. I ran over to the banished prince.

"Hey, dude, get up, we need you!" I muttered as I pulled him up.

"I don't need your help!" He cried, then he recognised me. "Why are you helping me?"

"If I have to choose between being chased by you or that crazy woman, I choose you," I smiled, holding out my hand to shake his. "Let's call a truce for now and take her down," Zuko glanced at my hand and turned towards the burning building.

"Agreed, let's go," He said without shaking my hand.

"Yes sir," I sighed, and turned to follow him.

Azula came running out of the building, chasing Katara. Aang followed, and soon we all started to surround her. Zuko shot a blast of fire at her which she dodged. Katara and I combine attacks and sent a large watery blob speeding towards he. She evaporated it with a powerful flame. Sokka slashed at her, and she parried his strike with her foot. Another blast of flame was shot towards the crazy woman, this time it was Iroh's. I had no idea where he came from, but Zuko smiled when he saw the old man. We backed Azula into an alley, and she suddenly fell over.

"I thought you could use a hand," I heard Toph's voice laugh. She had tripped Azula with a small rock. Toph was grinning as she stepped towards us.

"Toph! You're back!" I cried happily.

"Glad to be back, fan boy," She grinned.

"Didn't have to call me that," I mumbled. Azula got up and started to run, we chased her between the buildings Iroh and Zuko cut her off, and soon we had her cornered, she was totally trapped.

"Well, look at this, enemies and traitors, all working together," She half-heartedly laughed.

"It certainly took long enough," I nodded.

"I'm done, I know when I'm beaten," She raised her arms into the air.

"Knowing you, you'll try something," I replied.

She quickly moved and shot a high speed fire ball at Iroh. He didn't have time to react, and the blue flame hit him in the chest. Instantly, we all attacked her at once, but a large explosion seemed to deflect all our attacks. When the smoke cleared, Azula was gone, and Zuko was kneeling next to his uncle. We approached them.

"Get away from us!" He yelled.

"Zuko, I can help!" Katara replied.

"She can heal him!" I added.

"LEAVE!" He shouted, sending a large flame at us. We ducked and then ran to Appa and quickly left the banished prince alone with his uncle.

We flew into the night, and we soon landed on a tall mountain. My companions were all asleep, and my eyes were slowly closing as sleep began to overtake me. My thoughts went to Zuko, and I thought about how we managed to form a small alliance.

"Maybe we can make a more permanent one in the future," I yawned as I closed my eyes.


	17. Episode 17: Earth Bending

**Author's Note: Well, as you've probably guessed, I've hit the end of the material I've had written, so new chapters will be coming in at a slower pace. Thank you for reading this far!**

We settled down in a small canyon. It was a great place for two reasons, one, Appa was easily concealed in the rocks, and two, this was a perfect place to learn earth bending. Aang didn't sleep much because he was so excited, and this annoyed me to no end.

"Today's the day!" The air bender hopped up excitedly that morning. "Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earth bending!"

"Aang…Please…be quiet…" I groaned, asking him to shut up for the seventh time. "We are trying to sleep,"

"I'm sorry, I'll be quiet," Aang promised. Suddenly the earth started to shake, and a large BOOM resonated in the canyon.

"GOOD MORNING EARTH BENDING STUDENT!" Toph cried as she erupted from her rock tent.

"Good morning seifu Toph," Aang smiled.

Katara got up, her hair was a mess, but she didn't seem to care. "You never called me seifu Katara," She remarked.

"That's because you're SENSEI, not Seifu," I grumbled as I rose up, unable to sleep.

"If it bothers you, I can start calling you seifu," Aang suggested. Katara smiled and giggled lightly, before she could reply, her brother woke up, curled in his sleeping bag and growled something inteligable.

"Sorry snoozles," Toph mocked. "We'll do our earth bending as quietly as we can," She drove her heel into the earth and a rock sent Sokka flying up into the air. He screamed as he flew up and fell down. He rose to his feet, bouncing around in his sleeping bag, mumbling a variety of insults at Aang and Toph. He left to lie down next to Appa, who have him a large lick when he sat next to him. Aang jumped next to Toph.

"What move are you going to teach me first? Rockalanch?" He asked.

"Ha…Rockalanch," I laughed. Toph drove her heel into the earth and boulders fell over my head. I gunted when I was buried. "Still a stupid name for a move,"

"Let's start by moving a rock first," Toph suggested.

"Sounds good," Aang smiled.

After being dug up, we moved a ways away from our camp into a nice wide area of the canyon. Toph had set up two rocks for both Aang and herself. Katara and I sat nearby, watching the two as they began their lesson.

"The key to earth bending is your stance, you've got to be steady and strong," She turned to Aang who had a much more fragile stance then she did. She shoved him to the side as a pointer. "Rock is a stubborn element, so you need to be like a rock," She explained.

"Like a rock, got it," Aang nodded.

"Now, the actual motion of this one is pretty simple," Toph said as she stepped forward and gave a solid punch to her boulder. The rock went sliding into one of the canyon walls. She turned to Aang's direction.

"You ready to give it a try?" She asked.

Aang nodded and got into his stance. He stepped forward and punched, but he was thrown back into Appa who was still sleeping. I laughed hard, and couldn't stop laughing.

"Rock beats air bender!" Sokka giggled from nearby.

Katara pinched my cheek to get me to stop laughing. She glared at me when I stopped.

"What? It's funny," I protested. She continued to give me a hard stare. "Fine, you win," I mumbled, crossing my arms. She got up and walked over to Toph who was still just standing there. Aang walked back to the rock, joining the two girls.

"I don't understand what went wrong, he did it the way you did," Katara said.

"Maybe there's another way, what if I came at the boulder from a different angle?" Aang stepped up to the rock, ready to punch again, but Toph stopped him.

"That's the problem," She said. "You've got to stop thinking like an air bender, there is no different angle, no clever solution, no trickity trick that's going to move that rock, you've got to face it head on," She got into her stance. "And when I say head on, I mean like this!" She jumped at the boulder and smashed it to pieces.

"You are so cool," I laughed. Toph shot me a grin.

"Thanks, fan boy," She replied.

"I can see that nickname getting old really fast," I mumbled. She started to walk away from us, but Katara chased after the girl.

"I've been teaching Aang and Fred for a while now, and Aang really responds well to a positive teaching experience, lots of encouragement and praise. If he's doing something wrong, maybe a gentle nudge in the right direction," Katara coached Toph. The earth bender smiled.

"A gentle nudge, I'll try that," Toph said thoughtfully.

The next series of excersices looked like something out of a fitness centre commercial. Aang was forced to carry large boulders around, and Toph stood behind him, yelling commands and helping his movements with various forms of rocky prongs. One particular exercise caught my attention because of what Toph did with the earth. Aang was to push her back passed a line drawn in the sand, and she would do everything to keep from pushing her back, the kicker was that she created an armor made of earth for herself. That got me thinking.

"Katara, I'm going to go by the pond not too far from here, let me know how things with Aang are when I get back," I said getting up.

"Going to brush up on your water bending?" She asked. I nodded and headed towards the pond. This place, unlike the canyon, had a bit of life here. Plants grew out of the water and bugs and frogs chirped all over the place. I stripped down to swim wear and hopped into the water. It was surprisingly much warmer than I expected, so I didn't cringe or feel the need to pull myself out of the pond.

"How did she do that?" I wondered. I spun an arm and water started to move around me. It was like being in the middle of a water tornado. I continued to spin the water, and then brought my arms together. I was suddenly assaulted by icy spikes from every direction. "Ok, not like that!" I gasped through the pain cause by the ice piercing my skin. Thankfully, none of the cuts were really deep, so it was more of an annoyance than anything.

I decided to start with limbs, freezing them with one arm and trying to move them like Toph moved in her rock armor. I would often destroy the ice located at my joints, or sometimes the ice just wouldn't allow me to bend my arms or legs at all. I was beginning to feel like giving up, when I realised how disappointed someone like Pakku would be if he saw me give up, or Katara…or even Toph. I wondered why I was getting that vibe from her, when I heard a large crash coming from where Aang and Toph were training. I realised why I was thinking that.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. _One more time_, I thought. I strated to spin the water around me, and then gracefully moved one arm to the left. The water crashed over me, and incased me in ice. The ice followed the shape of my body, and spikes protruded from my elbows and the back of my head. I opened my eyes and remembered to make eye pieces in order to see. I then started to move my limbs slowly, and miraculously, the ice reshaped itself as I moved. Fissures appeared on the surface of my armor as I moved, but this was a huge step forward.

"YES!" I cried, throwing my fists up in the air. The ice shattered off me, flying in every direction. "I just need to work on this more and then I'll get it to work!" I grinned. I started walking out of the pond when I saw a depressed Aang and Katara walking towards me.

"What happened to you?" I asked. My mind turned back to the large crash I heard.

"Nothing," Aang replied.

"He'll get over it," Katara smiled. I nodded and put my clothes back on. I headed back to camp and saw Toph sitting next to Appa. She was chewing on a piece of grass, trying to pass the time I guessed.

"Yo," I said, sitting down next to her.

"What's up?" She asked me.

"Just invented something, you?" I replied.

"Not having much luck with Twinkle Toes," She answered.

"Uh-huh," I nodded. "I think I noticed," I turned to face her. She had gotten up and was now rummaging through Aang's stuff. "What are you doing?" I asked her.

"I just got an idea," She mischievously grinned. She seemed to have found what she was looking for, it was Aang's glider.

"I don't think he'd want you to touch that," I nervously laughed.

"This is going to force him to face it head on," She smiled.

"Oh, like a motivator?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, as long as it…works?" I said, unsure about wether or not I was comfortable with what I thought she'd do with that staff. We sat in silence for a little while.

"Sooo…" I said, trying to break the silence. "you're an earth bender…"

"Yeah, I am, when did you notice this?" She asked sarcastically.

"I'm trying to start small talk," I replied. "Want to see a neat trick?" I asked.

"Sure, I'd love to SEE this trick!" She laughed, waving her hand in front of her eyes. I laughed and drew my water. I encased my arm in ice and placed her hand on it. "Oh my, you've ecased your hand in ice," She sighed in a disappointed tone.

"There is more to it then that," I grinned. I took her hand with my icy hand, holding it. I then moved my fingers, showing the mobility of my fingers. She flinched when she felt the ice crack, then she laughed.

"I guess this is still a work in progress?" She asked me.

"You guessed it," I nodded.

"Well, keep working at it, and you might be able to take a hit next time," She laughed as she stood up. "See you around, fan boy," She walked away, waving.

"I can take a hit!" I cried as she moved away. I turned around and saw Katara sitting next to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw her. "How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough, showing off to our new friend?" She smiled.

"Don't you start with that," I growled, my cheeks turning red. She laughed silently at my display of embarrassment.

"So when were you planning on showing me that trick?" She asked.

"No way, I am not teaching you this, you get your healing, I get my armor!" I snapped. She laughed loudly.

"Ok, ok, you can keep it to yourself!" She raised her arms in defeat. We looked up at the sky, the sun was beginning to set, lighting everything with an orange glow. Katara turned towards me. "Do you know where Sokka is?" She asked.

I looked around, and shrugged. "No idea, why?" I asked. She got to her feet and headed off somewhere.

"He's missing!" She shouted at me.

"Ah," I said. "I see," I remained still for a few moments. I sighed heavily when I decided to go help look for him. While I was walking around the canyon, calling for the water tribe boy, I bumbped into Toph, who was walking around banging Aang's staff on various rocks.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Just having fun," She replied.

"You do realise he isn't around right?" I asked.

"Darn it, I thought for sure that would work!" She growled. "I guess he really is a push over,"

"That's not really nice you know," I replied.

"Guess you're a push over too," She smiled.

"Don't make me seal your mouth shut," I mumbled. We heard a loud roar coming from just above the canyon.

"So that's where Sokka is," I laughed.

"Is he in trouble?" She asked.

"Again," I nodded. We left in the direction of the roar. We eventually came to a scene where Aang was protecting Sokka from a giant Saboer-tooth Moose Lion (Seriously, who comes up with these names?) I was about to help, but Toph stopped me and said I should just enjoy the show. I thought about it, and the thought of seeing Sokka, stuck in the earth, being comedically attacked by a carnivore seemed like a strange irony, so I decided to watch. Aang then stood in front of Sokka, and blasted the charging beast with a large and very powerful gust of wind. The monster was shot back, and it gave up on trying to eat Sokka. Toph started to clap, and this caught the boys' attentions.

"What are you two doing here?" Sokka asked.

"Just enjoying the show," Toph answered.

"What she said," I agreed.

"What? You were there the whole time?" Aang asked.

"Pretty much," Toph smiled.

"Uh, actually we…" I was silenced by the girl.

"Why didn't you do something? Sokka was in trouble!" Aang angrily exclaimed. "I was in trouble, why didn't you just help us and we could've gotten away!"

"Guess it just didn't occur to me," Toph pulled up a nut, and tossed it on the ground. She then pulled out Aang's staff and rose it to crush the nut. Aang intervened and caught his possession.

"Enough! I want my staff back!" He cried.

"Do it now!" Toph exclaimed.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Earth bend, twinkle toes, you just stood your ground against a crazy beast, and even more impressive, you stood your ground against me, you've got stuff," She smiled.

"But-"

"DO IT!" She yelled. Aang quickly punched at a rock, and it went flying. "You did it!" Toph congratulated the air bender. "You are an earth bender!"

"I can't believe it!" Aang happily exclaimed.

"Aw, this is really a wonderful touching moment, could you get me out of here so I can give you both a big snuggly hug?" Sokka asked cheekily.

"No problem Sokka!" Aang smiled.

Toph stopped him before he could attempt to help Sokka. "Actually, you should probably let me do that, you're still a little new to this. You might accidentally crush him," Toph said. Sokka enthusiastically nodded, and the girl violently pulled him out of the crvice he was trapped in.

"So, back to camp?" I asked. They all nodded and we went back to camp. Aang showed off to Katara and Appa, enthusiastically explaining the form while Toph, Sokka and I stood nearby and watched.

"So about you calling me a push over," I whispered to the girl.

"What about it, fan boy?" She asked.

"I was thinking that maybe we have a match at one point, show you that I can take and dish out pain," I chuckled.

"You're on, when and where?" She asked, cracking her knuckles.

"Well, not right now, It's almost night," I laughed.

"Push over," She grinned, leaving me along. I sighed heavily.

"I'm going to get you for that," I muttered, rubbing my temples. Katara stood nearby, with a giant mischievous grin on her face.

"I won't say anything," She laughed.

I went to bed that night with a head ache.


	18. Episode 18: The Library

We stopped at a field one morning. The ground was riddled with small holes, and I had to watch my step to avoid having a foot slip into one of the small holes. Aang sat in front of us, with a small flute on his lap.

"What's out here?" Sokka asked.

"A lot actually," Toph answered, putting her hand on the ground. "There's hundreds of little-"

"Shh!" Aang interrupted her. "I don't want you to spoil the surprise!"

We stood pateintly behind him, waiting for him to surprise us. He brought the flute to his lips and blew into it. A small sweet note resonated from the instrument, and suddenly a ground hog came up from one of the holes and made the same sound. Aang giggled when he saw the ground hog. He played a few more notes, and ground hogs would play them back at him.

"I'm putting an orchestra together!" He announced, throwing his arms in the air.

"An orchestra huh?" Sokka moaned. "Well La De Da!" Three ground hogs came up and mimicked the tone of his voice. I laughed.

"Even the ground hogs are making fun of you now!" I laughed. Momo started running around, looking in all the holes, trying to find the creatures. Aang played notes on his flute and orchestrated the ground hogs. I stepped forward and asked to try, and he handed me the flute.

I remembered when I was young how I tried to play flute, I wasn't good at it, but now I thought I'd be able to make a decent tune. I played a few experimental notes, learning the tones and how to produce each note, then I played a rather simple melody that the ground hogs echoed.

"Wow, he can play music?" Toph asked. I grinned.

"Yeah, he was a musician," Aang smiled.

"Not really, I just played a few instruments, I didn't write my own music," I laughed.

"That's great and all, but don't we have more important things to do?" Sokka asked us impatiently. "We should be making plans!"

"We did make plans, we're all taking mini vacations," Toph replied.

"There is no time for vacations!" Sokka snapped.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can!" Aang protested. "I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara, I've been training my arrow off!"

"Besides, everyone needs a break once in a while," I nodded. "So let's just take a shore leave for a few days then we can get back to saving the world,"

"Yeah, what's wrong with having a little fun on our downtime?" Katara asked.

"Even if you do master all of the four elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation!" Sokka cried. "We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war,"

"Yes," I agreed. "You'll need plenty of it if you're going to be helpful, Sokka," I laughed. My friends all laughed at my joke, and Sokka shot me an angry glare.

"We'll finish our vacations, then we'll look for your intelligence," Katara laughed. Aang pulled out our map and laid it in front of us.

"Where do you want to go, Katara?" Aang asked her.

She studied the map for a small moment, and then pointed to a small spot on it. "How about the Misty Pond's Oasis, that sounds refreshing!" She smiled.

"Oh, I've been there!" Aang looked at the map. He started talking about it, saying that there was an ice formation there in the middle of the desert, and that it was really a sight to behold. The buildup the Avatar made around this formation of ice was swiftly shattered when we arrived at the small village. The ice was not a large chunk, but rather a small and pathertic clump on the ground in the middle of the village.

"It must've changed ownership since the last time I've been here," Aang nervously laughed. We made our way through the town, and it looked like it was in bad shape. People stood around, looking broken and dirty, and many had missing teeth. We made our way into a small bar. Inside, the bar was almost empty save for a few customers. One was a man loaded with gear, he looked like an archeologist. He ordered a drink, and the barntender swiftly began to slice up fruits with his swords. He even poured some liquid into the man's cup with his blades. The man paid him a gold coin and picked up his beverage. I noticed that the cup was made of the same ice as the mound outside.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy!" Sokka exclaimed as he hungrily ran to the counter, ready to place his order. We followed him to the counter, and Aang accidentally bumped into the man with the large pack.

"Don't worry," Aang smiled at the man who was apologetically looking at the large stain on Aang's suit. "I clean up easy!" Aang brough his fists together and he was instantly cleaned by a gust of air. The man gasped and smiled.

"You're a living relic!" He grinned.

"I try," Aang nervously smiled.

"An Air Nomad, right in front of me!" He thought for a moment. "I'm professor Zei, head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Se university," He grabbed Aang's arm and begun to study the tattoos on the boy's body. "Tell me, which temple do you hail from?"

"The southern temple," Aang answered.

"Splendid!" Zei exclaimed. "What was the primary argrecultural product of your people?"

"Are fruit pies and agricultural product?" Aang asked.

"Truly fascinating!" The man gasped. He pulled out a book and began to scratch words into its pages.

"So professor, you seem like a well traveled guy, do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated," Sokka said. The professor turned towards us and smiled.

"Certeinly!" He lead us to a table and opened up his largest map. I was about to sit down in my chair when I suddenly felt a pair of feet beneath my butt.

"Watch it!" Toph cried. She was already in her own chair, but she stretched her feet into mine.

"You already have your own!" I exclaimed. When she refused to move her feet, I sighed heavily and stood up.

"What? No Fire Nation!?" Sokka exclaimed as he studied the map. "Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?"

"You've made a lot of trips into the desert," Katara pointed at various small lines drawn on the map in the nearby desert.

"All in vain I'm afraid!" Zei, replied. "I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel: Wan Shi Tong's Library,"

"You've spent years walking through the desert, looking for some guy's library?" Toph asked.

"This library is more valuble than gold, little lady! It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless!" Zei enthusiastically exclaimed.

"Hmm," Toph muttered, unimpressed. "Sounds like good times,"

He told us the legend of the library, how a knowledge spirit called Wan Shi Tong and his foxes gathered knowledge from all around the world and placed it in a library in order to allow man kind to learn in order to help themselves. Sokka was really enthusiastic, asking if the library had maps and books of the Fire Nation, Zei couldn't say for sure, but he told us that we'd have a good chance of finding those things there.

"Aang, I know where I want to spend my vacation, AT THE LIBRARY!" Sokka cried.

"What about me? When do I get to pick?" Toph asked.

"And me!" I exclaimed. "I'm like a tourist to this world!"

"But just being here is like a vacation for you," Katara said. She had a point, and I shut up when I realised how right she was. We dragged the professor onto Appa and headed off towards the desert. We flew for hours with no luck, and the sun beating down on us was not helping. I took a tip from Sokka and pulled my shirt off, seeing as I was dying from the heat.

"UGH!" Toph moaned. "Does this place even exist?"

"Some say it doesn't!" Zei smiled.

"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" Toph angryli groaned. She grunted as she threw herself on her back.

We flew for a few more minutes; we all sat around, dying from the heat and boredom. Suddenly, Toph pointed out in the distance. "There it is!" She cried triumphantly. We all instinctively looked over into the direction that she was pointing at. When we remembered that she was blind, she laughed and moved her hand in front of her eyes.

"It shouldn't be hard to spot a giant ornate building from the air!" Katara exclaimed.

"Down there!" Sokka pointed at what appeared to be a watch tower in the distance. "What's that?"

We flew down to the tower and landed near it. We studied the tower for a few moments, and just before we councluded that this wasn't what we were looking for, we spotted a fox running towards us. In it's jaws, it had a small scroll. It ran up the tower and into one of the windows.

"We must be close to the library!" Zei exclaimed.

"No, this is the library!" Sokka exclaimed, poiting at the tip of the tower in a picture that Zei had brought. We realised that this was the very tip, and that the building was submerged in sand. Toph put her hand on the tower and listened for a few seconds.

"The inside appears to be completely intact," She told us. "And it's HUGE!"

"That's what she said!" I cried.

"Again with that joke?" Sokka asked.

"No one gets it!" Aang added. We heard a giggle.

"I get it," Toph laughed. I walked over to her and gave her a high five.

"You are so cool," I grinned.

"Anyway…That fox thingy went into a window, I saw we climb up there and give it a look!" Sokka suggested.

"I say you guys go ahead without me," Toph sighed.

"You've got something against libraries?" Katara asked.

"I've held books before, and I've got to tell you, they don't exactly do it for me," Toph answered.

"Or, right," Katara nervously laughed.

"Let me know if they have something you can listen to," She smiled. I reached into my pocked and was about to hand my Ipod to her, but then I realised that she wouldn't be able to use it due to her lack of vision. Sokka tied a rope to his boomerang and threw it into one of the windows. After we were sure the rope was not going to give up on us, we climbed up the tower and into the library. Zei was having a nerdgasm over the large atrium like room we were in. We climbed down onto a small bridge that stretched between the sides of the room. We heard the sounds of something approaching us, and we ran behind some nearby pillars. A large black barn owl walked into the light and stepped up to our rope. It looked around the room, then its gaze settle towards the pillars we were hiding behind.

"I know you're back there," It said.

I poked my head out from behind the pillar. "A talking owl? Man, this place has everything!" I exclaimed.

Zei ran out from behind his pillar and introduced himself to the owl. The owl looked at him with what I assumed was anger.

"You should leave back the way you came," It said.

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked as we all walked up to the owl.

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten-thousand things. And you are obviously humans, which are no longer permited in my study!" He growled.

"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked.

"Humans only bother to learn things in order to get the edge over other humans," Wan Shi Tong answered with a huff. "Like that fire bender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemies. So, who are you trying to destroy?" The owl leaned close to Sokka.

"What? NO! No destroying, we're not into that!" Sokka lied nervously.

"Then why are you here?" Wang Shi Tong asked.

"Um…knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Sokka smiled.

"If you're going to lie to an all knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it," The owl answered.

Sokka took a step back. "I'm not lying! I brought the Avatar and he's the bridge between the spirit and physical world, he'll vouch for me!" Sokka pushed Aang in front of the owl.

"We will not abuse the knowledge in your library old spirit, you have my word," Aang bowed, and we followed his lead.

The owl agreed to let us through on the condition that we gave him some worth while knowledge. Zei gave him a large book that he wrote, and the owl gladly accepted it. Katara gave him the old water bending scroll we stole from the pirates, he accepted that as well. Aang handed him a wanted poster of himself. I don't know where he got it from, or why the owl accepted it, but I didn't question it.

Sokka was a raterh odd case, he offered the owl a knot. "You're not very bright are you?" The owl asked.

"Trust me, that's why we're here," I sighed. My companions laughed lowdly. Sokka grunted.

"What about you?" The owl asked me. "What will you offer?" I paused and thought about what I could give. My hands instinctively reache for my Ipod, but then I froze.

"What are you doing? Just give it to him," Sokka said, pushing me close to the spirit.

"NO! I'm not giving this away!" I cried. "Guess I don't have entry…I'll be waiting outside then," I sighed. I awkwardly started to climb back out of the library, but fell back down. "Can I get a little help?" I asked. The owl sighed, and wished my companions a nice stay. He picked me up and threw me out of the library. I landed on a sand dune next to Appa.

"What happened?" Toph asked.

"I remembered I couldn't read so I decided to give you some company," I answered. She smiled. An awkward silence followed. "So uh, what are you two up to?" I asked. Appa let out a small groan, and Toph shrugged.

"Oh you know, just talking," She replied.

"Uh huh," I nodded. I took a seat next to her. "This is going to take a while isn't it?" I asked. She sighed and nodded.

"So, how's it like being here?" Toph asked me.

"It's quite hot, didn't you notice?" I asked, pointing at the desert around us. She laughed.

"No, I mean in our world,"

"Oh…It's nice I guess, I mean…It's not as technologically advanced as my world, but everyone is running around with super powers so it kinda makes up for it," I replied.

"How did you get here?" She asked me.

"Long story, I think it's a deal I made with some guy who brought me here," I answered. "I don't remember all the details; they kinda come back to me with time,"

"So you'll be leaving eventually?" She asked.

I paused. When she asked me that, I wanted to say "Of course not! I ain't leaving!" but I didn't exactly let it blurt out of my mouth, what came out was an awkward "Of course I leaving not!"

"What?" She asked.

"I meant to say, I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I kinda don't want to go back, but I do at the same time,"

"Why wouldn't you want to go home?" She asked, curiously.

"You know how your parents forced you to be confined by their rules? Well, it's a similar situation here, only it's the opposite, here I'm someone I'm not, I'm powerful, brave and strong. But at home I'm weak, nervous and overall not that interesting," I laughed.

"I wouldn't say that," Toph smiled. "I doubt coming here changed YOU as a person,"

"Oh gee, you're making me blush," I sarcastically replied.

We sat in silence for a bit.

"So about that match," I started.

"There isn't any rock around here," She stopped me.

"Sand is rock," I replied. "Just…very fine rock,"

She raised her arm and a pathetic wisp of sand rose in the air. "I can't bend sand very well,"

"Oh," I laughed. "Well then…some other time," We sat in silence for a moment. I found myself looking over at her, and studying her features. I was surprised to see how, behind the dirt that covered her, Toph looked like a rather cute and harmless girl. I was about to compliment her, but then an image of her playing with my insides flashed across my mind, so I held my tongue.

"Stop looking at me, fan boy," She suddenly said.

"What? How…How am I looking at you? I'm looking at…Appa!" I nervously stammered, pointing at the giant bison who was sitting next to us. He gave a lazy growl in my direction.

"I can hear you breathing in my direction," She said.

"Oh right, supersonic hearing," I cursed myself. She smiled.

"What's wrong? Can't handle being near the Blind Bandit?" She laughed.

"Katara's been bugging me the same way," I sighed.

"In what way?" She curiously asked.

"In the sense that she thinks I like…" I paused. I turned to Toph and saw her eyes had widened.

"Uh.." She breathed.

"Ahem!" I coughed, turning away. "Nice weather," I laughed.

"She thinks you like me?" She asked. _Damn!_ I thought, _They can't let anything slip by without inspection!_

"Yeah…But I don't!" I replied. "There is no way I could like a tomboy like you!"

"Oh, ok," Toph said, shrugging. "I'd probably chase you away anyway, you know, you being such a panzy and all,"

I huffed angrily. "How would you know?"

She grinned. "So you do?"

"That's not fair, you're twisting things around," I growled. "You're worse than Katara,"

"Well isn't that cute! The fan boy has a celeberty crush!" Toph cried loudly.

"More like I'm considering crushing the celeberty," I mumbled. She laughed. The earth started to rumble, and I was rather curious as to why. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Oh no! Library sinking!" Toph cried.

"What?" I turned and saw the tower slowly sinking into the sand.

"Library sinking!" Toph repeated. She rammed her fists into the tower and was trying desperately to hold it up.

"Oh god, what do I do?" I gasped. I heard Appa growl, and in the distance I saw something coming towards us. "Oh great, we have company!" I cried. I ran next to the bison and I saw a groupd of men on sand boats headed towards us. A blast of sand was shot as us, and it made a smoke screen around Appa and I. I had to partially close my eyes in order to avoid being blinded by the sand.

"Appa, fly!" I cried. The bison jumped up, but something caught his leg. "Damn it!" I yelled. "Where are you?" I couldn't see our attackers in the sand, but luckily a breeze blew by and cleared the area. I saw a group of sand benders surrounding us, and some had thrown ropes around the bison. I drew my water and sliced some of the ropes. One of the sand bender stepped up towards me and shot sand in my direction, I deflected it with my water and slashed him across his face with a whip. He yelped and his head rocket back. Another sand bender shot some rather solid clumps of sand and one hit me in the back of the head. I fell forward and caught myself. I turned to face him and he shot another clump. I made a disc of ice and used it to block the attack, and then I threw it at him. He ducked out of the way, but my disk severed some more of the ropes holding Appa. The bison was thrashing around madly, and some of the sand benders were thrown up into the air.

"Get away from him!" I yelled, but something hit me in the back of the head, and consciousness left my body as I fell to the ground.

"I want to make a deal," The man in the top hat said. "I will require payment when you return,"

"I don't want to return," I replied. "Not yet,"

He grinned. "You're adventure isn't over, not by a long shot, take your time and enjoy it while it lasts,"

I was suddenly sitting in front of my friend. "Remember, he isn't bright, you can trick him and get out of the deal!" He smiled at me. "Just use your head, and you'll figure something out!"

I was awoken by the soothing sensation of Katara's healing on the back of my head, I slowly rose and saw the sand was peppered with some of my blood.

"Damn…he hit me hard," I groaned, holding the back of my head as my brain triggered the pain I should be feeling.

"Appa is missing!" Aang cried. I snapped to attention.

"What?" I asked. I desperately looked around, but no Appa was here. "No! No no no no!" I cried. I turned to Aang. "I tried, I really really tried! There was too many of them," My shoulders slumped and I started to feel sick. "It's all my fault," I moaned.


	19. Episode 19: The Desert

A sandstorm had picked up, and I was certain that the tracks that the sand benders had left were now erased by the winds. We were all, understandably, shocked by the kidnapping of Appa. Aang was very angry at Toph and I, he yelled at us and demanded why we didn't save the bison. I didn't have an answer, as I was still completely shocked by my failure and was unable to speak.

"Aang, stop it!" Katara intervened. "You know they did all they could, Toph saved our lives and Fred…He was up against a group on his own,"

"Who's going to save our lives now?" Sokka asked. "We'll never make it out of here,"

"That's all any of you care about, yourselves!" Aang cried. "You don't care if Appa is ok or not!"

"We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting right now!" Katara replied. Sokka walked up to Aang, and Momo approached them. Sokka was about to touch Aang when the boy suddenly got up.

"I'm going after Appa!" He told us, and he took off before Katara could protest.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled pathetically.

"It's not your fault," Katara sighed. "We're all shocked and worried and scared," She placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me up to my feet. I kept staring at the ground. Katara sighed then looked out to the horizon.

"We need to get moving, we're the only ones who know about the solar eclipse, we need to get that information to Ba Sing Se," We started walking, and I was lightly pulled by Toph, who I'm sure was feeling the same way as me. Sokka informed us about a solar eclipse that was coming, and he revealed to us that the Fire Nation would be helpless when the sun was covered by the moon. The plan was to inform the king of Ba Sing Se about the coming eclipse in order to mount an invasion of the Fire Nation and swiftly end the war.

We walked for hours, and the sandstorm passed, leaving us at the mercy of the sun. We were all exhausted, but we needed to keep moving. I was really tempted to drink some water, but the rational side of my brain was telling me to save the water for later. Sokka suddenly stopped moving and Toph walked into him.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" He asked.

"No," Toph answered.

"Sorry," Sokk nervously replied.

"Come on, we need to stick together," Katara turned to face us.

"If I sweat any more, I don't think sticking together will be a problem," Sokka answered, trying to pull himself off of Toph. Their clothing was glued together by their sweat. Toph grabbed Sokka's nose and peeled him off.

"Can I have some water?" She asked.

"One second," I sighed. I pulled out four drops, one for Sokka, one for Toph, one for Katara, and one for Momo. I sent each drop into the mouthes of my companions.

"You're not drinking?" Katara asked. I shook my head.

"We need to preserve it as much as possible, we have only two gourds of water for six," I answered. "Well…six when Aang get's back,"

"Hey look!" Sokka exclaimed. He ran over to a bloated and odd looking cactus. He began slicing it into bits and drinking the fluids inside.

"Sokka, you shouldn't be eating strange plants!" Katara cried, pulling Toph as she ran towards her brother.

"There's water in here!" Sokka replied. "Here!" He handed a piece of the cactus to his sister.

"I don't know," She replied.

"Suit yourself," Sokka shrugged. His pupils dialated and he started to shake. He was then sluring about how "quenching" the cactus juice was.

"Oh great, he's high now," I mumbled. "I wonder if we could bend water out of it though," I tried out my idea, but it didn't work. I only managed to pull out the greenish paste that Sokka was drinking. We gave up on the idea and continued to move, hoping we'd find Aang.

"What is that?" Katara asked pointing to a giant mushroom cloud in the distance.

"What is what?" Toph asked.

"It's a giant mushroom!" Sokka exclaimed. "Maybe it's friendly!"

"Let's just keep moving," Katara said, pulling Toph as she walked forward. I followed silently, not wanting to say anything. We walked and walked and walked, and suddenly the sun was setting. I was beginning to loose track of time as the hours dragged on and on. A shadow passed us, and Aang landed behind us. Katara ran over to him.

"I'm sorry, Aang," She sighed. "I know it's hard, but we need to focus on getting out of here,"

"What's the difference?" Aang asked, not getting up. "We won't survive without Appa, we all know it,"

"Come on Aang!" Katara pleaded. "We can do this if we work together, right Toph?" She turned to the earth bender.

"As far as I can tell, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding," She answered, kicking some sand to prove her point. "I've got nothing,"

"Sokka?" Katara turned to her brother.

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" He asked, pointing up at what looked like four winged vultures circling above us.

Katara eye's were pelading and she turned to me.

"I'm not going to die here," I answered. "I don't want to die,"

"So…you think we can-"

"I don't know, I really don't know," I interrupted Katara. She started looking at all of us, and her shoulders fell in defeat. She rubber her temples, then her face contorted in anger.

"We're going to get out of this desert and we are going to do it together!" She grabbed Aang and pulled him on his feet. "Let's go!" She ordered.

We continued to walk….and that's pretty much what we did for a good portion of that day now that I think about it. The sun a disappeared behind the horizon and Katara finally said we could rest for the night. Upon hearing those words, we all fell in relief onto the sand, our bodies exhausted from the long walk.

"Is there anymore water?" Toph asked.

Katara nodded and gave us each a small mouthful. "Let me see what you got from the library," She said, turning to Sokka.

"WHAT!? I didn't steal anything!" He cried in a panic. He turned to Momo. "IT WAS YOU! YOU RATTED ME OUT!"

"Sokka, I was there," Katara sighed. She took Sokka's bag and started to look through the scrolls inside.

"It doesn't matter, none of those will tell us where Appa is," Aang sighed sadly.

"No, but we can use this to point us to Ba Sing Se," Katara replied. She held a star chart in her hands and she studied the picture on it, making a mental map of the sky. "We'll travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day, but for now, try to get some rest," She turned to us and looked at us with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, we aren't the happiest group right now," I sighed, whispering at the girl, speaking for the first time since loosing Appa.

"I just hope we aren't so hopeless that we give up," She whispered back. I nodded and laid on the sand. I closed my eyes and gave myself to sleep, hoping to rest for a bit before we moved again.

"Get up, it's time to move," I heard Katara's voice saying. Slowly, we all started to rise from our sleep.

"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud, now it just tastes like sand," Toph mumbled. "I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much,"

"Glad to see you still have your sense of humor," I yawned as I sat up.

"Appa!" Aang cried. We looked up at the sky and saw a figure glide across the moon. Our hope was soon shattered when we saw the shape morph slowly.

"It's just a cloud," Katara said in disappointment. "Wait, clouds are made of water!" She turned to Aang. "Fly up there and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch," She said, handing her gourd to Aang. The boy ripped the leathery pouch from the girl's and hand leapt into the air aggressively. We saw him flash across the moon, and the cloud vanished. Aang flew back and threw the gourd at Katara. She peeked inside. "Wow…there's hardly any in here," She sighed.

"I'm sorry ok!?" Aang yelled. "It's a desert cloud, I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing!?" He pointed his staff aggressively at Katara.

"Trying to keep everyone together," She mumbled. "Let's get moving, we need to head in this direction," She pulled out the star chart and started to follow the images on the parchement. We walked for a few feet, and Toph suddenly tripped.

"ARG! I am so sick of being unable to feel where I'm going!" She cried. "And who buries a boat in the middle of the desert?" She pointed at a piece of wood sticking up from the sand.

"A boat?" Katara asked. She approached the wood and studied it.

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations," Toph growled. I helped the earth bender to her feet. Aang stepped up to the pice of wood, and with a swift slash with his staff, he cleared away the sand that buried it. It was one of the sand bender's boats. Katara climbed onto it and pointed our attention to a compass on it, and I found myself smiling at the thought of finally leaving the desert.

"Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it! We're going to make it!" Katara triumphantly cried. We piled onto the boat, and soon we were blasting over the desert dunes, speeding in the direction that the compass pointed us too.

"The needle on this compass doesn't point north according to my charts," Katara said.

"Take it easy little lady, I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here," Sokka laughed. He was obviously still suffering from the effects of the cactus juice.

A rock protruded from the horizon, and Katara studied the needle and the approaching rock. "I think it's pointing to that rock, it must be the magnetic center of the desert!" Katara guessed.

"A rock!?" Toph exclaimed. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Maybe we can find some water," Katara smiled.

"Or maybe we can find some sand benders," Aang growled.

"I'm with you on that one," I nodded. We stopped the boat in front of the rock and climbed onto it. The sun was beginning to rise, and this rock look uninhabited.

"Ah! Solid rock!" Toph giggled. She fell on her back and created a rock angel in the surface.

"What's in there?" I asked, pointing at large holes in the rock face. Curiously, we walked into the caves, hoping we'd find something useful, or someone inside. The walls of the caves were lined with this green paste like substance. Sokka yawned loudly.

"I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice," He said. He turned to the wall, and curiously brought some of the stuff to his lips. He quickly spat it out in disgust. "Tastes like rotten penguin meat!"

"And you'd know how that tastes like…why?" I asked.

"I don't think this is a normal cave," Toph said.

"What gave it away? The stuff on the walls?" I laughed silently, my humor coming back to me.

"This was carved," Toph continued.

"Yeah, look at the shape," Aang nodded.

"There is something buzzing in here," Toph added. She must've been feeling something.

"Ok, well that's my cue to leave, you guys have fun being eaten!" I cried, running towards the exit. My friends quickly followed, and the sound of buzzing wings resonated in the caves behind us. We made it outside, and what came out after us was what appeared to be a group of creatres that looked like a cross between bees and vultures. The monsters started to attack us, and we defended ourselves to the best of our abilities. I was running low on water, so I could only use a short ranged whip against these creatures.

Aang shot gusts of air at the creatures that got too close, and whenever one landed somewhere, Toph would instantly attack it with her earth bending. She felt one land behind her, and she shot a boulder towards it. The monster was smacked away by Sokka, who barely avoided the boulder.

"Her, watch it, you almost crushed me with that boulder!" He cried.

"Sorry, I can't tell where they are in the air!" Toph replied.

"Don't worry, being crushed by a boulder isn't so bad," I cried, remembering that night at the arena. One of the monsters grabbed Momo who was cowering between us, and Aang quickly leapt in the air after the creature that took the leamur. Katara told us to head down the rock, and we followed. We slowly moved down the rock, and we guided Toph's attacks to the creatures that tried to attack us.

We managed to make it down the rock, and we were cornered. Suddenly, the sand around us erupted and chased away the monsters. When the sand clouds cleared, we found ourselves surrounded by sand benders. Aang landed in front of us, and I knew he was angry, just like I was. It took every fiber in my body to hold myself from attacking our saviors.

"What are you doing in our land with one of our boats?" An old man standing at the head of the group demanded. "From the looks of it, you stole it!"

"We didn't steal it, we found in abandoned in the desert," Katara said. I studied the faces of the sand benders, then my eyes settled on one of them. It was the one I whipped when they were stealing Appa.

"You…" I growled. His eyes widened slightly when he recognized me. I stepped forward, crowched in a fighting position, I was low on water, but I was burning with rage. "Where did you take the bison?" I growled.

"You accuse me of theft when you ride on a stolen sand sailor?" He growled.

"I recognize your voice," Toph slowly said. "You did steal Appa,"

"Where did you take him!? Where is he!?" Aang screamed.

"They are lying! I didn't steal anything, father!" The man pleaded with the older sand bender. "They are the thieves!"

"Bull! You ambushed us at the library and took the Bison from us! I fought you!" I yelled. Aang sent a powerful gust and destroyed one of the sand benders' boats.

"Where is my bison?" He growled.

"What did you do!?" The old man turned to his son.

"It wasn't me!" He pleaded. I ran up to him and grabbed him. Everyone was stunned and didn't even try to stop me.

"I've had enough of you!" I yelled. I formed a small ice knife. "Where did you take the bison!?" I was shot back by a gust of sand.

"WHERE IS APPA!?" Aang yelled. His eyes began to glow, and he stepped up to the young man.

"I didn't know it was the Avatar's bison!" He pleaded. "I traded him with some merchants, he's probably in Ba Sing Se by now," Aang continued to stare at them. "Please, we'll escort you, we'll help however we can!"

Aang began to rise into the air, winds picking up around him. Sokka ordered us to get away from the Avatar and he pushed Toph ahead of him, getting her to move. I followed them, moving a safe distance away from the enraged Avatar. I looked back and saw Katara step up to Aang a place a hand on his arm. Slowly, the Avatar lowered himself to the ground, and gave himself to the girl's embrace.

No one said anything, the sand benders quietly allowed us onto their remaining boats and they soon took us along with them, helping us on our journey to Ba Sing Se.


	20. Episode 20: The Serpent's Pass

We found ourselves in a creek just outside the desert. The sand benders were nice enough to give us some food before sending us on our way, so we were more or less well stocked for the next few days. Sokka sat by the water's edge studying a map while Aang and Katara swam in the water. Toph sat near Sokka with her feet kicking the water, and I was practicing with creating a solid ice armor and not have it crack as I moved.

"WATER BENDING BOMB!" I heard Katara exclaim as she dove into the water. A huge splash shot up and showered us all. In a panic, Sokka did his best to cover his maps with his body.

"Sure, 5000 year old maps from the spirit library, just splash some water on them!" Sokka growled.

Katara stepped out of the water, squeezing water out of her hair. I had to admit that she looked good with the mischevious smile she gave Sokka. "Sorry," She giggled, she then moved her arms and all the water that soaked the map was sucked out of it, drying the parchment. Sokka layed it down for all of us to see, and we crowded around him.

"Did you figure out what route we are going to take?" Aang asked. It was nice to see that the Avatar was calmer now than he was yesterday. I knew he was still very concerned with Appa, but seeing as his bison was so far away, Aang couldn't worry about him right now.

"We just got out of the desert, so we must be around here," Sokka pointed at a spot on the map next to a creek. "We need to get to Ba Sing Se which is here, it looks like the only piece of land connecting us to the city is this strip called the Serpent's Pass,"

"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked.

"What's wrong? Just because it has an evil sounding name doesn't mean the pass is evil," I smiled.

"It's the only way," Sokka confirmed. "It's not like we can fly there,"

"Could you at least try to be sensitive?" Katara snapped at Sokka. We turned to Aang. His eyes were glazed with sadness, but he shook his head.

"It's ok, I know I was upset about Appa, but right now, I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se,"

I nodded. "The sand benders did say that he might be there, we could knock out two birds with one stone by going there," Aang's face contorted a little, but he didn't say anything.

"Alright, then we head to Ba Sing Se, no more distractions!" Sokka exclaimed as he rolled up his map and stood up.

"Hello fellow refugees!" A voice cried. We turned and saw a family of three walking towards us. It was a man, who I assumed to be his pregnant wife, and who I guessed was their daughter.

We spoke with them for a few minutes, and learned that they too were headed to Ba Sing Se. The pregnant woman, Ying, was almost ready to deliver the baby, so they wanted to get there as soon as possible.

"We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together," Katara suggested. This got a fearful reaction from the trio.

"The Serpent's Pass?" Ying asked fearfully. "Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!"

"Deadly route," Toph nodded.

"Ok fine, evil name, evil pass," I mumbled. I received a punch from the earth bender.

"We are desperate," Sokka explained. The trio shook their heads and suggested we go with them to Full-Moon bay. There, boats would carry refugees to Ba Sing Se, saving people from the danger of the on foot journey. We agreed to go with them, and they guided us to the bay. We descended into a tunnel, and soon we found ourselves in a large cave full of refugees and guards.

"I can't believe how many peoples lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation," Katara gasped as she studied the mass of moving bodies.

"This won't be easy," I groaned. "I'm starting to think the deadly route might be faster,"

We stood in a massive line for tickets to the boats, and I was becoming increacingly bored. I thought I heard a voice cry something about cabadges, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

"God, this is so boring!" I yawned.

"Do you want me to make this go by faster?" Toph asked with a grin.

"Yes! Please!" I cried. Toph's smile grew and she moved to the front of the line. She spoke with the receptionist for a few moments, and she suddenly returned with four tickets.

"Uh…where's my ticket?" I asked.

"Oh, I thought you said something about wanting to take a deadly route," Toph laughed.

"Not funny," I groaned.

"Actually, I couldn't get any more than four tickets," Toph sighed. "Look's like you're unlucky,"

"Trust me, just being here makes me unlucky," I laughed.

We started to walk towards the boats when suddenly a woman stopped Sokka. "Tickets and passport please," She growled.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, I've got a problem with you!" She pointed at Sokka. "I've seen your type before, probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious and, let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar!"

"Wow, she deduced you right away, you really are transparent," I gasped.

"Do I know you?" Sokka asked the girl.

"You don't remember?" She growled, grabbing his shirt. "Maybe you remember this," She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"SUKI!" Sokka cried. The girl flashed him a smile.

"It's good to see you!" She laughed, hugging him.

Now I was totally shocked at seeing her here. Suki was a Kyoshi warrior, and last I checked, they stayed on their island, not wanting to get mixed up with the war. Not only that, but the lack of make-up made her look like a completely different person.

Suki told us about how the warriors of Kyoshi island wanted to help with the war after we left. They enventually found their way to the Bay, and became security for it, stopping criminals and potential trouble makers from endangering the refugees. We gave her an update on our journey, and informed her that Appa was missing. We were interrupted by the trio we met on the road, and they informed us that all of their belongings and tickets were stolen. Aang tried to talk to the receptionist, but he was denied any help.

We suddenly found ourselves heading for the Serpent's Pass, we were going to lead the trio through the treacherous road and get them safely to Ba Sing Se.

"I can't believe we gave up our tickets!" Sokka complained for the fith time.

"I can't believe you're still complaining," Toph replied. We were joined by a woman dressed in green, with a white painted face.

"I'm coming too!" Cried Suki.

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to come?" Sokka asked.

"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come," She gasped.

"I do, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm just a sexist man who believes that women can't take care of themselves!" I cried, imitating Sokka's voice. No one laughed, or even said anything. "Ok fine, that wasn't funny," I sighed. We continued to walk, and soon we found ourselves outside of the cave, and onto the Serpent's Pass. It was a long thin road on a series of mountains that stretched out into the sea. We started to walk onto the pass, and we all moved slowly in order to be prepared in case anything happened. A Fire Nation vessel lazily traveled next us, but it didn't fire.

I was hoping that we would remain invisible to the ship, but my wishes were not granted. The man that walked next to his wife began to fall off the edge of the pass, seeing as some of the rock beneath him crumbled. Toph reacted quickly and saved him with her earth bending, but the dust caused by the events gave away our position, and soon, the vessel lauched a fire ball at us. We started to run, and Aang leapt at the flaming boulder, deflecting it back at our attackers. The boulder crashed into the vessel, but it didn't sink it. Another fire ball was launched at us, and crashed into the rock face above us.

Rocks fell towards Suki, but Sokka pushed her out of the way. Before he could be crushed, Toph created a slide that bounced the rocks away from the water tribe warrior.

"Suki, are you ok? You have to be more careful!" Sokka cried, picking up the girl, helping her to her feet.

"Thanks for saving me Toph, No problem Sokka," Toph mumbled.

"It's not his fault he's concerned for his girlfriend," I laughed. Toph turned red. I gasped. "Oh god, don't tell me that you like him,"

"I don't," She growled.

"Man, the signs are all there!" I laughed. A rock hit me in the gut. "I hate you," I moaned. She grabbed my arm and started to drag me with her.

We continued all day, and when the sun set, we found a nice flat area on the pass and stopped for the night. I laid down my sleeping bag next to Aang and Toph, and suddenly I had an idea.

"Hey Toph! Sparring now?" I asked. She thought for a moment, then a grin spread across her face.

"Sure why not?" She laughed. We stepped a little ways away from our group, and we took our fighting stances. "You ready?" She asked.

"I was born re-" Before I could finish, I was suddenly sucked into the ground. "Hey! No fair!" I cried.

"You said you were ready," She laughed.

"That was a cheap shot!" I growled.

"Oh suck it up, princess," She laughed, leaving me in the ground. I struggled to pull myself out, but to no avail.

"I swear she loves to annoy me," I sighed. I was left there for quite some time, so long, in fact, that I fell asleep. I was awoken when I was violently shot up from the ground.

"Thought I'd come get you," Toph grinned.

"You didn't have to leave me there over night," I mumbled, rubbing my sore legs.

"I didn't, but it was funny," She laughed.

"I'm going to get you back for that," I replied.

"So you keep saying," She smirked. She helped me up, pulling me to my feet.

"I only keep reminding you so that I may grace you with the knowledge ahead of time, Miss Bei Fong," I bowed. She laughed and signalled for me to go to sleep. I followed her back to the camp, and got in my sleeping bag. She got in her sleeping bag to my right, and we lay in silence.

"So…" I asked. "Do you really uh…"

"Do I really what?" Toph asked.

"You know, do you really…Sokka," I mumbled.

"No!" She got up violently, looking my my directiong. "Why would you think that-" She stopped herself, then a large grin spread across her face.

"uh…what uh….why are you looking at me like that?" I wimpered. "This is very intimidating and I-"

"You are so transparent," She laughed. "Get some sleep, fan boy,"

I stopped when she used my nickname for the first time since the library, this time; she said it in a playful tone rather than a teasing tone.

"Should I be worried for my life?" I asked.

"You should always be worried for your life with me around," Toph replied. "Now shut up and get some sleep,"

The next day, we continued on our journey. We came to a section of the pass that was buried under the water. Katara stepped forward and ordered us to fall in behind her. She started to part the water, allowing us to continue walking on the pass. I started to help her with the bubble as we descended beneath the surface of the water. Around us, we could see fish swimming around our bubble, and Momo dove after them. A large shadow passed near us, causing the leamur to swim back into our bubble.

"What is that?" I asked in a worried voice. Before anyone could answer, the large creature burst through our bubble, popping it. We tried to stop the water from pouring in, but so much of the creature was still coming through one end of our bubble and out the other that we couldn't stop it. Toph quickly moved and raised the earth beneath our feet, shooting us up to the surface of the water. We were on a small circular island, and the creature that attacked us was circling us, lying just beneath the surface of the water. Suddenly, the monster rose from the water, and we saw what looked like a large eel-like monstrosity.

"I think I found out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka exclaimed.

The monster lunged towards us, but Aang blasted its head away from us. "Katara, get everyone across, I'll distract it!" He ordered. Katara created an Ice bridge between our island and the pass, and we all piled onto it and ran…well, everyone except Toph. Katara jumped into the water and charged after the monster to help Aang.

"Toph, what are you doing? It's just ice, come on!" Sokka exclaimed when he turned around. The girl placed a foot on the ice, but then she stepped back on her rock.

"I think I'm just going to stay on my island where I can see," She protested. The body of the creature landed behind her, pushing her onto the ice. She started to slide her feet across the surface, moving slowly towards us.

"Come on, you're doing great! Just follow the sound of my voice!" Sokka encouraged her.

"It's hard to ignore!" Toph replied.

"You're almost there!" Sokka cried. Suddenly, a tail came down and smashed the ice bridge, throwing Toph into the air. She let out a scream of complete surprise and fear and she landed in the water. Instantly I dove into the water, and using my bending, I propelled myself over to her. We erupted from the water, being held up by a watery cyclone that stretched from my waist down to the water below.

"I got ya!" I said. Toph continue to thrash for a bit. "HEY! Stop moving! It's me!" I yelled. She paused when she realised that the water that was touching her was not rising abover her face.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" She hugged me and held on for dear life.

"You know, you normally kiss the kngiht in shinning armor," I laughed as we moved towards our group.

"Keep dreaming," She scowled. We landed on the trail next to Sokka and Suki, and we turned to see what Aang and Katara were doing to the sea serpent. Aang and Katara were running (or would it be, in this case, swimming?) around the monster, making it spin round and round through their water bending. Eventually, the beast crashed into the walls of the Serpent's Pass and slowly slid back into the water. Aang flew Katara over to us, and we all gave a cheer when they touched down.

"Hey, thanks for saving me," Toph whispered to me.

"Don't mention it, someone was gonna grab you sooner or later," I smiled.

"But it just happened to be you," She laughed.

"It doesn't mean anything," I replied. "We're friends and a group, if I let you die, what would that make me?"

"You definitely wouldn't be a fan of mine," She smiled.

"Exactly… wait, what?" I asked. She just waved away my question and moved towards the front with Sokka and Aang. We made it to the end of the Serpent's Pass, and in the distance, we could see the great wall of Ba Sing Se. It stretched out in both directions as far as the eye could see, it was really a sight to behold.

"There's the wall!" Sokka excitedly pointed forward. "Now it's nothing but smooth sailing!"

The pregnant woman started grunting, and she clutched her stomach. Everyone turned to face her, and her husband grabbed her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked.

"The baby's coming!" She answered with a gasp.

"Can't you just…hold it in or something?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Sokka, it's ok, I've delivered lot's of babies with grangran back at home," Katara said.

"This isn't a baby seal!" He protested.

"What's the big difference?" I asked. "Both babies come out of the same spot,"

We were suddenly all given orders by Katara. She ordered Aang to get some rags ready, Sokka to fetch some water, Toph to create a tent, and for Suki to accompany her to go in the tent with the pregnant woman to help deliver the baby.

"Wait, what do I do?" I asked.

"Just stay out of the way," Katara said as she poked her head out of the tent to answer.

"Oh jeeez, thanks for the vote of confidence," I grumbled, shoving my hands into my pockets. I took a seat next to the tent, and soon Sokka and Aang returned with their rags and water. We soon started to hear gasping and Katara yelling the classic "PUSH!" to the woman.

"It sounds like…you know what, I'm not going to say it," I mumbled.

"Good, I don't even want to know what you think it sounds like," Toph replied.

"Is she ok?" Aang asked.

"Well, those gasps can be one of two things, how a woman sounds like when she's giving birth, or-"

"Don't say it," Toph sighed, bringing her hands to her face.

"Or how a woman sounds like when she's being really….cared for," Aang gave me a quizzical look, which caused me to giggle slightly.

"Your humor never ceases to show up at the most appropriate times," Toph sighed.

"Why thank you!" I beamed. We then heard a small cry coming from inside the tent, and Katara exclaimed that the small child was a girl. We all poked our heads inside and saw the mother holding the small baby. It squirmed and made small cries every now and then, but we could see that it was slowly going to sleep.

"She sounds healthy," Toph remarked.

"She's so…squishy looking," Sokka added.

"Of all the things you could say, you decide to go with 'Squishy looking'?" I asked with a chuckle. I turned to Aang, and caught a glimpse of a smile. Something I didn't see since the library.

"What should we name her?" The new father asked.

"I want her name to be unique, I want it to mean something," The mother smiled.

Aang stepped forward, wipping tears away from his eyes. "I've been through a really hard time lately, and you have given me hope," He smiled, looking at the child.

"I know what I want to name our baby now, we'll call her Hope," The mother looked down warmly at her child. We stepped outside of the tent to let the family have some privacy, and Aang turned to face Katara.

"I thought I was trying to be strong, but I was running away from my feelings," He said. "But seeing that family, it reminded me of how I feel about Appa…and how I feel about you," They stepped forward and embraced each other, and I crept up behind Katara.

"You two should really kiss," I whispered lowdly. I received a palm strike to the jaw. We all laughed, and then Aang announced that he was going to go ahead to Ba Sing Se in order to look for Appa. We wished him luck and set him on his way. Momo followed the Avatar, and they soon disappeared in the horizon as they passed over the wall. I then proceed to pack my things, and suddenly, I looked up and saw Sokka and Suki kissing.

Now, normally I wouldn't be bothered by the display, but two things made it seem…off. One, Sokka was kissing a girl, now you might be thinking that this isn't such a big deal, but spend a week with this guy and you'll see where I'm coming from. Second, I was literally standing behind them, and they paid no attention to me whatsoever, not only that, but my brain didn't have a joke for the situation, it just locked up like a computer loading an internet page when your busy downloading five movies!

Anyway, Suki announced that she was going to head back to the refugee docks in order to reunite with the Kyoshi warriors, and we waved her good-bye. I looked towards the wall of Ba Sing Se, and smiled.

"We'll, my friends, it looks like nothing can stop us now!" I cried. We all threw our fists into the air and cheered, and we quickly began to jog towards the wall.


	21. Episode 21: The Drill

The wall was now only a few hundred meters away, and the corridor of rocks we were moving through slowly lowered to the ground, allowing us to have a better view of the fields around us. I noticed some smoke rising from our right, but I couldn't see the source as the rocks blocked my view. Suddenly, Aang landed in front of us.

"What? Aang why are you here?" I asked.

"I thought you were looking for Appa." Katara added.

"I was, but something stopped me, something big!" We ran over to the wall as quickly as our feet could carry us, then Aang and Toph elevated us up the wall with their earth bending.

"What's so big that Appa has to wait?" Sokka asked. Right before Aang could answer, we caught a glimpse of what was making the smoke in the distance. It was a giant drill, slowly inching its way to the wall.

"That!" Aang answered.

"Just when I think we can get something done without an interruption, I get proven wrong," I sighed. We arrived at the top of the wall, and we stepped off our rock platform onto the wall. Guards approached us, and demanded to know why we were on the wall, as civilians were not allowed.

"I'm the Avatar! Take me to who ever's in charge!" Aang demanded. The guards escorted us to an old, and possibly senile old man. When he was informed of Aang's identity, his grin widened into a large child-like smile.

"It is an honor to welcome you to the outer wall young Avatar, but your help is not needed,"

"Not needed?" Aang asked, voicing our confusion.

"Not needed," The general repeated. "I have the situation under control, I assure you, the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall," He rose from his seat and guided us towards the edge of the wall. "Many have tried to break through, but none have succeeded!"

"What about the Dragon of the West? He got in," Toph remarked.

"Well, uh…technically, yes…But he was quickly expunged!" He turned towards us. "Never the less, that is why the city is named Ba Sing Se! It's the impenetrable city!"

"Except for when it was penetrated," I nodded. The old man gave a scowl as he walked over to a telescope that was placed on the wall's edge.

"We still have that drill to worry about," Toph remarked.

"Not to worry, I've sent an elite team of earth benders called the Tera Platoon!"

We looked over the edge, and saw a few rocky spikes collide into the slow moving drill, but the steel was too strong, and the spike broke. Suddenly, two figures emerged from the drill and proceeded to attack the group of earth benders.

"Can I borrow that telescope?" I asked the general, he gladly nodded and handed me the device. I peered through it, then sighed heavily. "Guess who it is?" I sighed.

"Who?" Katara asked.

"Our two favorite girls,"

The entire group let out a large moan of annoyance. I handed the telescope back to the general and told him to look through it, his expression changed from a confident smile, to a terrified expression.

"We're doomed!" He exclaimed. Sokka slapped his face and ordered him to get a hold of himself. The general calmed himself down and then admitted to needing our help. The old man left us and we looked at the drill, trying to come up with a plan.

"How are we gonna stop that thing?" Aang asked, after a moment of silence, we all turned to Sokka.

"Why are you all looking at me?" He asked.

"You're the idea guy," Aang answered.

"So I'm the only one who can come up with a plan? That's a lot of pressure!"

"You're also the complaining guy!" Katara laughed.

Later, we were called over to the infirmary, and Katara began to heal some of the soldiers that Ty Lee and Mai attacked. Katara explained to the soldiers and the general that Ty Lee could block our chi, and that she attacked from the inside of your body. Suddenly, Sokka began gasping and grunting loudly for our attention.

"Yes?" Katara politely asked.

"That's how we're going to take down the drill, just like Ty Lee took down these earth benders! From the inside!"

"By hitting its pressure points!" Toph added.

"That's a good plan, but how do we get inside?" I asked. Sokka flashed me a grin.

"I think we can figure something out!"

We found ourselves down on the ground, in front of the great wall of Ba Sing Se. The drill was right in front of us, slowly inching its way towards us.

"Once I whip up some cover, you won't be able to see, so stick close to me!" Toph ordered. She then sent a shock wave towards the drill, and kicked up a lot of dust. The ordered us to run forward and we followed her into the smoke screen. I was nearly holding onto Toph's collar as the dust made it hard for me to keep my eyes open for long. We ran for about a minute, and suddenly a wind picked up, blowing away our cover. We found ourselves directly in front of the drill's head, and Toph made a small hole in the ground.

"Everyone into the hole!" Toph ordered. Before I could say anything, Toph turned to me. "Don't you dare make a joke out of that!" I held my tongue and hoped into the hole with everyone else, and Toph jumped down last. She closed the hole, plunging us into darkness.

"It's so dark down here! I can't see a thing," Sokka grunted.

"Oh no! What a nightmare!" Toph sarcastically replied.

"Who's fut is in mah muth?" I asked.

"What does it taste like?" Aang asked, sounding a little worried.

"Lak durt!" I answered.

"Sorry," Toph replied. We waited under the earth for a few more seconds, and then Toph opened our hideout, allowing us outside. We found ourselves under the drill, and we quickly located an opening. Aang jumped onto a bar that hung low from the small hatch and helped us up inside. Toph remained behind, saying that she'd be more use if she tried to slow down the drill from the outside.

We walked down some halls inside the machine, all of which were lined with pipes and glowed deep red as nearby red lamps were the only source of illumination. Sokka explained that he needed a map of the interior in order to accurately locate a weak point in the drill. Sokka knocked a valve off a pipe, and told us that the goal was to attract an engineer in order to steal his plans of the machine.

I filled my gourd to the brim with the vapor, and I prayed that I'd have enough to put my armor to good use. We then quickly hid behind some pipes, and waited for an engineer. One eventually showed up and was just about to start working on the pipe, but Katara froze him with the vapors, and we quickly stole his plans of the machine.

We found ourselves a nice quiet room, and once inside, we took a look at the plans. Sokka noticed that there were two main structures to the drill, and inner structure that held all the machinery, and a protective outer shell. We saw that there were braces holding the outer shell in place, so we decided that cutting these braces would allow us to collapse the drill with its own weight at the very least.

We followed Sokka to the braces, and then we realized why this plan might not be the best.

"Wow…those braces are a lot bigger in person than in the plan,"

"That's what she…You know what, seeing as Toph isn't here, I won't say anything," I mumbled.

"This isn't a time for jokes, you guys are going to have to work pretty hard to cut through these braces," Sokka turned to face us. We placed ourselves around the beam, and we all started to cut it. It was a long, slow, and exhausting process. After a good long period of time, punctuated with a small break, we managed to cut through the entire brace. It slid a little, but the whole thing didn't collapse. We were all wondering if we'd be able to destroy the drill in time before it hit the wall, when we felt the entire thing rumble.

"We took it down!" Sokka hopefully exclaimed. 'Let's get out of here,"

"We didn't," I countered. Before Aang could ask how I knew, a voice came up through a microphone.

"Congratulations team! We've made contact with the wall!"

Sokka then angrily tried to push the brace down, but it stood strong. "Why won't you fall!?" Sokka exclaimed.

"This is really bad," Katara moaned. "If we can't cut these all in time…"

"Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through," Aang gasped.

"I get it, weaken enough braces, and the thing collapses," I grinned. "Why didn't I think of that?" Aang grinned, and we got to work with new energy. We quickly worked, cutting a little more than half way through every brace we worked on, then we would quickly shuffle over to the next one, and continue the process. With three water benders, this was fairly fast, but exhausting work.

"Good work team avatar!" Sokka encouraged us as we worked on a brace. "Now Aang just needs to-AAAH!" Sokka ducked as a blue fire ball barely missed his head.

"What's wrong?" I looked up and saw Ty Lee, Mai and Azula. "Oh great, not you three again," I moaned.

"Wow! You were right Azula! It is the avatar!" Ty Lee paused, and her expression changed to a flirtatious glare. "And friends," She nearly licked her lips as she said that. I got shivers.

"If only you weren't a bad guy… I mean girl, I think we'd have gotten along fine," I cried. The three of them jumped towards us, and Ty Lee launched herself towards Aang. He pushed her away with a gust of air, but she bounced off a brace and back onto our bracket.

"Go! I'll take care of her," I yelled.

"Didn't she beat you?" Aang asked.

"Once," I replied.

"On two occasions," Aang corrected.

"JUST GO!" I yelled. I turned around and saw all three women standing down at the entrance of the hall we ran into. Azula and Mai quickly jumped over my head and continued after my friends. Before I could even turn to face them, Ty Lee threw a series of jabs for my arms and shoulders, but I managed to back up away from her strikes.

"Glad to see we get some time alone!" She laughed.

"Well, this time it'll be more fun," I grinned. She laughed.

"You said that the last time!" She jumped up onto some pipes, and ripped them in two. Steam billowed around me, making her invisible, but I wasn't worried. In fact, she helped me more than she helped herself!

"Got ya!" She cried from behind me, her fingers jabbing into my shoulders, but as they collided with me, the girl let out a yelp.

"I got you a present," I said. "It's a knight in shining armor!" I bended the steam around me, and soon I was encased in an icy armor. It had spikes coming from my elbows and knees, and my head was quite aerodynamic.

"Wow, that's really pretty!" Ty Lee smiled. "You're all shiny and blue!"

"And I hit harder too!" I lunged forward, sending a watery tentacle for the girl. She cartwheeled backwards and avoided my attack. She picked up a pipe and threw it like a spear. The end jabbed into my armor, but the ice stopped it from piercing my skin. I laughed gleefully as I felt indestructible.

"Oh my, this isn't looking too good," Ty Lee gasped.

"I finally got you!" I cried. I ran forward and threw a series of jabs at the girl, but she managed to dodge all of my strikes.

"You seem to be moving a little teeny bit slower than before," She remarked. My eyes widened and I froze.

"Oh…damn it," I mumbled. I stood awkwardly in front of her, my first forward. "So uh…about me being a 'friend'…you want to get dinner or something?"

I was now running away from the woman, screaming as she relentlessly chased my in the halls of the drill. "Hey, let's all chill out for a minute and hug it out?" I cried.

"I'd love to!" Ty Lee squealed from behind me. "But unfortunately, I have a job to do!"

"Leave me alone!" I cried, turning down another hall way. Mai stood at the end of it, next to an open hatch. The knife throwing woman noticed me and quickly reached for her weapons.

"Get out of the way!" I cried, sending a large and powerful blast of water at her, freezing her to the wall. I dived into the hatch, and found myself in very filthy water. I heard a splash coming from behind me, I turned and saw Ty Lee, swimming towards me.

"Don't you ever give up?" I gasped. I swam forward, and soon I found myself outside the back of the drill…however, I was behind held up in the air by the water around me. I looked down and saw Katara holding her arms up to the machine. I smiled and blasted myself down to the ground next to her.

"Am I glad to see you," I gasped.

"Help me out here!" She growled. I stood up, and gave her a hand, holding the slurry back into the opening of the drill. Ty Lee suddenly appeared, and her expression was one of sheer surprise. I began to laugh.

"Katara. I'm going to stop helping for a bit, I want to enjoy this," I brought my hands down, and slowly, I formed a could of icy pellets from the slurry at my feet. Ty Lee's face turned into one of panic. "Allow me to repay you for the times you beat me!" I laughed, and then a proceeded to shooting small pellets into the girl's forehead. She gasped every time I hit her, it was almost like I was making music with her.

"Fred, stop playing and help me!" Katara yelled. I sighed in disappointment and held the water along with the girl. As we held the water into the drill, I could feel the pressure building up inside, and the water slowly pushing forward, trying to be released. I almost felt like stopping, but Ty Lee being right there motivated me to keep her in place.

"You guys need some help?" Toph asked. She was approaching us from beneath the drill.

"Yeah, help us with keeping this drain plugged," I smiled. The girl took a stance, and started to bend the rocks in the slurry, effectively allowing us to completely seal the drain.

"So how long do you think Aang is going to take to blow this thing sky high?" I asked. We suddenly heard a large CRACK! We looked at one another, and suddenly a series of booms resonated. We looked up at the drill and saw a lot of water and rock exploding out of the drill.

"I kinda feel bad for Ty Lee now," Sokka said, looking at the destruction.

"She had it coming," Katara replied. Toph rose us up on a rocky platform as slurry came rushing out of the drain. I heard a small girly gasp from below, and I looked over the edge.

"Oh hey! It's Ty Lee!" I smiled. The girl looked up at me, and her features scrunched up into a mix of pain and anger.

Aang came by and got us, along with a group of earth bending soldiers. We were escorted back to the wall, and all given time to clean ourselves up. We all eventually found ourselves back onto of the wall, overlooking to horizon and the destroyed drill. The sun was setting, and I realized that we were fighting all day.

"I just wanted to say, good effort out there, team Avatar!" Sokka cried.

"No matter how many times you say it, it won't catch on," Katara sighed.

"How about the Gaang?" I asked.

"I like it," Aang smiled.

"Let's talk about this some other time," Katara laughed, leading us away from the wall.

"I got another one! The fearsome fivesome!" Sokka exclaimed.

"I want to comment on that so badly," I laughed. We all laughed as we walked away from the wall, and into the city of Ba Sing Se.


	22. Episode 22: City of Walls and Secrets

**Author's Note: Writing has slowed down, expect slower updates. I kinda need to take a break from work in general, but when I get my enthusiasm back, this will get back on track. Thank you for reading this far ahead!**

After a good night's rest, we found ourselves in a train headed for the inner wall of Ba Sing Se. The train was moved by earth bending, and I wondered how the two living "engines" at the back of the train felt about their work, I imagined that it must've been quite boring to do nothing other than push trains around all day. We all sat together in the middle cart of the stone train. I sat on one side of the cart with Aang and Katara, while Sokka and Toph sat on the opposite side. The wall soon came into view, and it was just as impressive as the outer wall. As we entered the wall, Aang's face turned into a mask of worry.

"Don't worry, we'll find Appa," Katara smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's such a big city," Aang replied, unconvinced.

"He's a giant bison, where could they possibly hide him?" Sokka asked. The train pulled out of the tunnel to the other side of the wall, and we saw nothing but houses upon houses stretching as far as the eye could see.

"We are going to have a lot of ground to cover," I sighed.

"Don't remind us," Sokka moaned, slapping himself. Our train stopped at a train station, and we got out along with the other passengers.

"Back in the city…great," Toph groaned.

"What's the problem?" Sokka asked. "It's amazing!" He pointed out to all the buildings that surrounded the station.

"Just a bunch of walls and rules, you wait, you'll get sick of it in a couple of days," Toph replied, petting Momo who was clinging to her shoulders. Aang stepped up to the railing that overlooked the city, and blew into his bison whistle.

"I'm coming for you, buddy," He silently promised. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her, saying that he felt Appa's presence. I was looking out into the city, slowly feeling more and more claustrophobic. I never like densily populated areas, they made me feel small.

"Hello!" Said a cheerful voice that came from behind. "My name is Joo Dee, welcome to Ba Sing Se!" I turned and was assaulted by the sight of a horrifying smile of what seemed to be a tour guide that was way too happy to be here. I screamed and fell over.

"Wh-What is wrong with…your face?" I asked, pointing at her unnatural grin.

"What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with my face!" Joo Dee laughed, her smile didn't change at all as she spoke. "I will be your guide, shall we get started?"

"Yes, we have information about the Fire Nation that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately!" Sokka smiled.

"Great! Let's begin our tour!" Joo Dee replied, still smiling her unnatural and unnerving smile. "I'll then show you your new home, I think you'll like it!"

"Maybe you missed what I said, we need to see the king to talk about the war," Sokka stepped towards Joo Dee.

"You're in Ba Sing Se now, everyone is safe here," Our tour guide grinned. I was hit with a wave of unnatural shivers, and my companions sensed my discomfort.

"This is…really unnerving," I whispered to myself. Joo Dee guided us to a chariot, and we piled inside. I had to sit between Joo Dee and Sokka, and the woman's pernmenent smile continued to frighten me.

"This is the lower ring," Joo Dee explained as we moved through the streets of what looked like a rather poor area of Ba Sing Se. Katara looked out the window and inquire about the wall that surrounded this area. Joo Dee was only too happy to answer. "Ba Sing Se has many walls, there are the walls outside protecting us, and the walls inside that help maintain order. This is where are newest arrivals live, and where our craftsmen and artisans, people who work with their hands,"

"Seems to me like these walls are to separate the poor from the rich," I mumbled. The chariot continued, and soon we arrived in a new area, outside of the first inner ring. This neighbourhood looked very clean and well groomed, unlike the previous area we passed through. There were a lot of white houses, surrounded by small man-made rivers.

"This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se, home to the financial district, shops and restaurants, and the university!" Joo Dee explained.

"Figures," I mumbled, looking at the absurd wealth that surrounded us.

"We met a professor from the university, he took us to an ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war that is ABSOLUTELY CRUTIAL FOR THE KING TO HEAR!" Sokka yelled. Joo Dee just grinned.

"Isn't history fascinating?" Joo Dee then pointed us to the town hall, and exited the carriage in order to lead us to the building. Sokka was completely flabbergasted by this woman's refusal to listen or even acknowledge his requests. After being given a brief tour of the town hall, Joo Dee piled us back into the carriage, and we headed towards the upper ring.

"This is the upper ring! It's home to our most important citizens," Joo Dee smiled.

"Let me guess, people with a lot of money?" I asked. She nodded, and I growned loudly. "This is absolutely ridiculous," I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The people who were living in this upper ring were living like kings! It blew my mind why the people in the lower ring did not have at least a share of the obvious over concentration of wealth in this upper ring. We passed by a large building that had the symbol of the Earth Kingdom on the front of it.

"What's in there?" Katara asked.

"And who are the mean looking guys in robes?" Sokka added, pointing at the group of men standing in front of the building.

"That is the royal palace, and those men are agents of the Dai Li, they are the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se, they are the guardians of all our traditions,"

"Can we speak to the king now?" Aang asked impatiently.

"Oh no!" Joo Dee exclaimed. "One doesn't just pop-in on the earth king!"

"But he's the Avatar!" I protested. Joo Dee just held her grin in response, and we all sighed heavily.

"Here we are! Your new home!" Joo Dee cried as our carriage stopped in front of a nice stone house. It was easily large enough to hold all five of us, and in a way, I felt uneasy having to live in such a large house, but I didn't voice my discomfort. We got out of the chariot and stood in front of the doors. Joo Dee was suddenly greeted by a man with a letter. She accepted the parchment, and waved the man good-bye, sending him on his way. She opened the letter and read it for a short moment.

"Good news! You're request to speak with the earth king is being processed, and should be put through in about a month!" Our guide flashed us a smile. "Much more quickly than usual!"

"WHAT!?" I cried.

"A MONTH!?" Sokka gasped.

"Six to eight weeks actually," Joo Dee giggled. She lead us into the house, opening the front door with a key that was hidden in her sleeve. The inside of the house was clean and full of pillows and carpets. It was nicely decorated, and there were enough bedrooms for everyone.

"Isn't this nice?" Joo Dee asked. "I think you'll really enjoy it here,"

"I think we'd enjoy it more if weren't staying so long, can't we see the earth king any sooner?" Sokka asked.

"The earth king is very busy running the finest city in the world, but he will see you as soon as time permits," Joo Dee replied.

"If we're going to be here for a month, I want to spend our time looking for Appa," Aang said.

"I will be happy to escort you," Joo Dee bowed.

"Oh no! Not in a million years! You stay away from us!" I cried. "You scare me so much, please just leave,"

"I agree, we don't need a babysitter," Toph said, getting up and walking towards the front door. Joo Dee stepped in front of the girl.

"I would be a bad host if I left you alone," The tour guide insisted. "Now, where shall we start?"

"We'll start by kicking you out," I said. Joo Dee gave me an odd look, and that same look stayed stapled to her face as I pushed her out of the door. As soon as I closed the door, it opened again, and Joo Dee was still smiling. "If she's going with us, I'm staying here," I mumbled.

The gang left, leaving me behind in the house. I was relieved that I didn't have to be around Joo Dee. I distracted myself with unpacking our gear. I put Katara's belongings in the same room as Toph's, Sokka's stuff in the smallest room and Aang's stuff in the room adjacent to mine. I took the biggest room for myself, wanting to see what the reaction would be from my companions. I didn't have nearly as many things as the others, so this was sure to get a reaction from them. After I was done, I stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air. It was a nice change from being constantly hunted by the Fire Nation, but the landscape around me seemed out of place. In the back of my mind, I knew there was a war going on, but here, it was like it was an entirely different world, heck, just down a few rings was mass poverty, yet here, everything is clean and…rich.

I began having a head ache, so I rubbed the temples of my head and was just about to head back inside when I noticed someone standing near the edge of one of the houses on the street. The silhouette reminded me of the Dai Li agents we saw with Joo Dee, but when I tried to get a good look, he was gone, I suddenly had the feeling that I was being watched, and my eyes nervously darted around the place, trying to find any suspicious individuals.

"This is starting to remind me of 1984," I mumbled to myself, thinking about the novel by George Orwell. Something about the vibe I was getting from this city matched the feeling I had when I read that book, it was rather unsettling.

After being unable to find anything or anyone suspicious, I retreated back into the house we were given and turned on my Ipod. I decided that now was a good time to listen to music, and thanks to Azula's lightning bolt, this baby was nearly fully charged. I chose a random song, and let the Ipod play the music. I eventually found myself closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep, but the door suddenly opened, causing me to fall over.

"Any luck?" I awkwardly asked as I snatched up my Ipod, turning it off. Aang shook his head, and I suddenly felt myself frowning in disappointment.

"This place is infuriating!" Sokka exclaimed. "No one wants to talk about the war or talk about anything that might help us find Appa!"

"Yeah, you got that right, this place sure is weird," Toph sarcastically gasped.

"Tell me about it, I thought I saw one of those Dai Li guy's spying on me earlier," I nodded.

"That's another thing, the man across the street told us to stay away from him, something about not wanting to get in trouble with them," Katara remarked. "And he was whispering to us, trying to keep quiet like anything he said might get him arrested,"

"Oh dear," I moaned.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"It's a secret police," I answered. "We have those in some countries from where I come from, they are the government's hounds and they can make anyone disappear, leaving no trace behind…we just walked into something very, very dangerous," Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say. We all understood how dangerous the Dai Li were, and we knew that all of our actions were being monitored.

"Well, I'm going to bed now," I yawned.

"Good idea," Toph nodded.

"Yeah, I'm tired too," Sokka coughed, nervously looking around. We all retreated into our rooms, and just before I could close my eyes, I heard sounds of protest and disappointment. I smiled as sleep took me.

The next morning, we all got up at roughtly the same time. We all got cleaned up and did our morning rituals, but being in a house, it was different than what we were used to. Katara stepped outside, yawning and taking in the morning air while the rest of us all sat together in the living room. Suddenly, Katara came running in with a newspaper roll, telling us that she knew how we'd speak to the earth king.

"How are we supposed to do that? One doesn't just 'Pop in on the earth king'!" Toph said, impersonating Joo Dee's voice.

"Please, don't remind me of her," I moaned, holding my head.

"The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear!" Katara told us. She suddenly studied the paper for a moment, looking confused.

"You mean…platypus-bear?" Aang asked.

"No, it just says bear…"

"This place is weird," Toph moaned.

"No, you're all weird!" I cried, pointing my finger at everyone. "Ever since I came here, I haven't seen a normal animal until the foxes at the library, and now you're saying there is a regular and normal bear here, this is like a slice of home for me!"

"You're saying you don't have armadillo-bears or fox-hounds?" Sokka asked.

"Or seal-turtles and polar bear dogs?" Aang added.

"No! We have turtles, seals, armadillos, bears, foxes, hounds and dogs, no freaky combinations," I answered.

"You're just as weird as Ba Sing Se," Toph laughed.

I didn't have an answer to that, so I just folded my arms and mumbled to myself about how backwards THEIR world was.

"Anyway, the palace is going to be full, we could sneak in with the crowd," Katara said.

"Won't work," Toph placed herself on her back over the pillow she was sitting on.

"Why not?" Katara asked.

"Well, no offence to your 'ordinary' folk, but a high class society crowd would spot you from a mile away, you've got no manners" Toph answered.

"Not to mention it's probably invitation only," I nodded.

"No manners? You're not exactly a lady, fancy-fingers," Katara leaned over Toph.

"I've learned proper behaviour and chose to leave it, you didn't, and right now, it's too late," Toph replied, lazily scratching her stomach.

"Aha! But you learned it!" Sokka exclaimed. "You could teach us!"

"I'm mastering all four elements, how hard can manners be?" Aang grabed one of the hanging drapes in the room and wrapped it around his neck. "Good evening Mr. Sokka Water Tribe, Miss Katara Water Tribe, Lord Momo of the momo dynasty," Aang turned to the lemur that was warpped in blankets.

Sokka wrapped himself in blankets, wearing them like a fancy cape. "Avatar Aang, how you do go on!" The two boys started to bow at one another, each taking a turn in order to avoid slamming their heads together. Their speed increased, and eventually, their movements synchronized, resulting in the two of them colliding together.

"Katara might be able to pull it off, but the three of you would be lucky if you could pass as Buss Boys," Toph said, standing next to Katara.

"Good, I don't want to go to any fancy party, those are always boring, but I am suddenly curious to see if this bear is a real bear," I laughed. We waved good bye to the two ladies who left into another room. We could faintly hear them talk through the door, but we didn't pay much attention.

Aang and Sokka distracted each other by playing this world's equivalent to rock, paper, scissors. Sokka was really bad at the game, and lost almost every round. They added a rule that the winner gets to hit the loser, and I could see that Aang was enjoying it more than he should. They asked if I wanted to play, but I shook my head, explaining that I didn't know the rules, nor did I want to get hit by anyone.

The door to Toph's room opened, and we turned to see both girls, fans in hand, dressed in fancy clothes and faces painted with make-up. Normally, I didn't really like make-up on people, but our friends somehow managed to pull off the "high class" look with it. I guessed Aang felt the same way.

"Wow, you look beautiful!" Aang smiled awkwardly. Katara stepped forward as if to say something, but Toph stopped her by quickly shooting her fan in front of Katara's mouth.

"Don't talk to the commoners, first rule of high class society,"

"It's a good think I ain't common in this world," I laughed, sticking my toungue out at Aang and Sokka who both looked at me with betrayed expressions.

"We'll get into the party and find a way to let you in," Katara said, head turned in my direction.

"Yes mam," I nodded politely. Aang and Sokka still watched me, mouthes wide open. "Hey, it's not everyday you meet someone from a parallel universe!"

Sokka and Aang dragged me out near one of the back entrances of the palace. We hid behind a bench, waiting for the girls to get us. We've been waiting for about half an hour, when we started to grow impatient.

"Where are they?" Aang asked.

"Don't worry, I have a back-up plan," Sokka pulled us behind the bench.

"I don't think it'll work," I sighed.

"You didn't even hear it yet," Sokka mumbled.

"I don't need to," I replied.

"We could go in with these guys," Aang smiled, pointing at wat looked like Bus Boys taking food inside the building from a carriage. "Toph did say we could pass as Bus Boys,"

"Alright, let's do it," Sokka grinned.

Sokka and Aang left me and sneaked up to the Bus Boys. When they returned, they had three uniforms with them. I pulled on the clothes and soon we were all ready to enter the party.

"This uniform is a little tight," I complained as I tried to stretch the neck hole which was nearly strangling me. "Couldn't you find something a little bigger?"

"Sorry, that's all I could grab," Aang apologized with a giggle. We walked into the party, and each of us took a tray of food and started walking around, serving the party-goers. I ended up near the table with Aang, and I saw a large grizzly bear dressed in royal clothing sitting at the head of the large table.

"Wow, it really IS a bear!" I gasped. Sokka came near us, and Aang asked where Katara and Toph were. Sokka told us that our priority was to find the earth king and speak with him.

"I don't know what he looks like," Aang whispered.

"You know, fancy robes, royalty, jewelry," Sokka answered.

"Sokka, that's everyone here," I moaned.

"Another crab-puff please," A familiar voice ordered. I turned and smiled when I saw Toph and Katara standing next to us.

"You found us!" Aang exclaimed. I handed Toph her order.

"I could recognise your footsteps anywhere, Twinkle Toes," She laughed.

"Thanks for letting us in," Sokka sarcastically remarked.

"Sorry, but the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight!" Katara informed us.

"What guy?" Sokka asked. We scanned the faces of the crowd and didn't see any suspicious individual.

"Oh no," I gasped.

"What are you doing here!?" A voice asked. We turned and saw Joo Dee approaching us. "We'll all be in terrible trouble!"

"We need to see the king first," Sokka objected.

"You don't understand, we must GO!" Joo Dee pushed the boy and he bumped into Aang. Aang accidentaly dropped the drinks he was carrying onto a nearby woman. She was about to shout.

"No! Don't shout, I'm sorry!" Aang quickly shot a gust of wind to dry the woman off. His hat flew off, revealing his tattoos. The woman opened her eyes and smiled.

"Oh! I didn't know the Avatar would be here!" The woman's voice caught the attention of a number of people who turned to face Aang. Joo Dee's face turned into a horrified expression.

Sokka leaned in close to Aang and told him to keep everyone distracted while he searched for the king. Aang called for everyone's attention and leapt onto the large table at the centre of the room. He pulled all of the liquids for everyones drinks and floated in a giant multicoloured ball. Even the bear seemed to enjoy the spectacle. Suddenly, from the far side of the room, a large carriage being carried by a whole group of Dai Li soldiers appeared in the room. The carriage was brought at the end of the table facing the bear. Our first guess was that this was the king, and so, naturally, we began to approach him. As Aang got close, the carriage was suddenly picked up and moved out of the room. Sokka's voice suddenly gasped in surprise, I heard a moan from behind me, and Suddenly, Toph and Katara were gone.

"What is going on?" I asked. Suddenly, what felt like stone hands wrapped around my mouth and my waist, pulling me to the shadows of the party.

We were brought to a dark room lit by a green flame in a fire place. Aang was suddenly thrown in and a bald man followed him. He sat in front of us, and I got the feeling that this was the man in charge of the Dai Li.

"Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka demanded. "We have information that can defeat the Fire Nation!"

"The king has no time to be disturbed by political squabble and the actions of the military," The man replied.

"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard!" Aang protested.

"What's more important to his Majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se," The man answered calmly.

"So what you're actually saying is that the king holds no real power over the city," I observed. "He's just a figure, a puppet, the Dai Li are what control everything,"

"Oh no!" The man feigned insult. "He's an icon, a god to his people, he can't sully his hands with the war,"

"Isn't that what I just said?" I asked, turning to my friends. "I think that's what I said," My friends nodded.

Sokka stepped forward. "We found out about a solar eclipse that would leave the Fire Nation helpless! You could lead-"

"ENOUGH! I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan!" The man rose to his feet. "It is the policy of Ba Sing Se, not to mention the war inside the walls!"

"Why, so you can control the people? Avoid having them demand for action and pull control away from you?" I growled. "This is exactly what I'd expect the Fire Nation to pull off, you're no better then them!"

"You don't understand, we maintain order, if news of the war were the be broadcasted to the citizens, our city would be thrown into a constant state of panic,"

"You just want to keep your hold over the city!" I yelled.

"You can't keep the truth from all of these people!" Katara added.

"I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!" Aang yelled.

"You've been our guests so far, but now you will be watched by Dai Li agents," The man growled. "I understand that you've been looking for your Bison, it would be a shame if you could not complete your quest," His words his us like a brick wall. _Blackmail!? He isn't messing around, that power hungry lunatic!_ I thought. He sat back down on his desk. "Now, Joo Dee will show you home," A woman entered the room and faced us, she had a large grin, and half closed eyes.

But she was not Joo Dee. "Come with me please," She grinned.

"What happened to Joo Dee?" Katara gasped, looking at the woman who claimed to be our host.

"I'm Joo Dee, I'll be your host during your stay in our city of Ba Sing Se,"


	23. Episode 23: The Tale of Fred

"Morning everyone," I yawned as I stepped into the bathroom. I didn't think it was strange that the whole gang (Toph being the exception) were all lined up in front of the mirror. Aang, Sokka and Katara all greeted me and returned to cleaning up their faces. I squeezed in between Sokka and Aang and started to brush my teeth. I didn't notice it at first, but Ba Sing Se was the only city I've seen that had an abundance of tooth brushes. In almost every cabinet and drawer in the bathroom of our temporary home, there was a small tooth brush just waiting to be used.

"What's the plan for today?" I asked after spitting into the sink.

"I don't know, I thought we should all just take a day off in order to make sense of everything that just happened," Katara replied as she walked out of the room, leaving us boys alone.

"I think I'll go looking for Appa," Aang said as she scrubbed his scalp, giving it a nice shine.

"I'm going to explore the city, might find something helpful," Sokka added.

"hmm," I replied. "A quiet day…no surprise adventures or interuptions," I thought about the freedom we had all just received. I didn't realise it until now, but I was under a lot of stress during our adventure, having to constantly fight against threats and avoid danger, this was a nice break, a time for us to breathe.

"Well, I'm not going to waste this free time," I smiled.

"What are you going to do?" Aang asked as Sokka left the bathroom. I smiled and pulled out my Ipod.

"I am going to drain this thing's battery,"

After finishing up in the bathroom, I stepped out in time to see Katara and Toph walking out the front door.

"Please, don't let her take me," Toph mumbled as Katara pulled her towards the door.

"What?" I asked stupidly, the blind girl didn't have time to reply as the door was shut behind her. Aang and Sokka left shortly after, leaving me alone in the house. I sighed heavily and walked into the living room where I sat down on the floor. I started to think about how long it's been since I've been in this world. I arrived in the middle of winter, and now it was the middle of spring. I guessed that at least 4 or 5 months have passed, making my stay in this world almost half a year. I thought about home, thinking if the same amount of time had passed, and if so, if people were worried about me. I was always kind of a loner at home, and my parents allowed me to have a lot of freedom, I could go camping for weeks and come home without telling them, and they'd just act as if I was gone for only a day. I smiled at the memory and I wondered if they thought this was an extended camping trip.

"I bet if I ever return, you guys would just laugh it off," I giggled. "I miss you two," I pulled out my Ipod and hit play, letting the device shuffle my music and playing it in no particular order.

"This is all I have from home," I sighed. "And it's funny, because part of me doesn't want to go back," I laughed again. "How would people react if I just vanished forever? Would they forgive me?" I was sure that my parents would at least like a letter or something, but then again, I was certain that they would think I was just ready to 'leave the nest'. My thoughts went back to school, to the boring subjects of math and English which suddenly seemed very appealing.

"I wonder what unit my classes are on right now," I could feel small hot tears forming in my eyes, but not tears of sadness. I didn't know why I was crying exactly, it was a whole mix of emotions that hit me in a quiet moment, a moment in which I could think. I slapped myself.

"God damn it, why are you crying, this is the happiest time of my life!" I sat up, whipping away the moisture from my eyes. "I guess you could say I'm glad I made that deal," I smiled. "It's a shame it has to end eventually,"

The next thing I knew, I was trying to sing along to the songs on my Ipod. Many of them I didn't memorize the lyrics entirely, so I only sang the choruses of those songs. I don't know why I was trying to sing, as I was anything but a singer, but it was a strange kind of fun, something about it just made me giggle and laugh whenever I messed up. I was in the middle of singing a particular favourite of mine when, to my horror, I heard the front door open.

"Sounds like someone is having fun," Katara laughed.

"I could hear you from down the street," Toph giggled. I was certain that she was exaggerating, but her comment made me turn into a shade of deep red.

"What happened to you two? Looks like you got attacked by makeup artists,"

"Very funny, we went to the spa," Katara sneered.

"At least it isn't as bad as your singing," Toph grinned devilishly.

"Hey, shut up, you don't have quality vocals like mine,"

"Hey, how about we just all sing together?" Katara suggested.

"What?" Toph and I both asked nervously.

"Yeah, why not? It'd be fun,"

"I don't sing," Toph replied.

"And I think you know very well that I don't either," I added.

"Oh I'm sure you have some nice songs that are easy to sing along to and don't require a lot of talent," Katara laughed.

"Gee, thanks," I mumbled.

"Oh come on," Katara snatched my Ipod from my hand and started to scroll through. I cursed myself for teaching her how to use it as she continued to stay just out of my reach as she looked through my files. She then hit the screen with her index and one of my favourite songs started to play, it was Somewhere in the Between by Streetlight Manifesto.

"This has a cheery tone to it," Toph mumbled.

"I'm expecting you to sing too," Katara laughed, she then turned to me. "And I'm not hearing you sing,"

"Don't wanna," I replied as the first chorus approached. I received a snowball to the face.

"Sing,"

"FINE! This is the Alpha! Omega! The beginning and the end!" I started to sing along with the song with a lack of enthusiasm.

"Ugh, it's even worse than the first time," Toph gasped as she covered her ears.

"Keep going! When I know the words I'll join in!" Katara encouraged me. This was starting to look like one of those awkward karaoke parties I've been to where one person is forced to sing, and eventually the others joined in when they were sufficiently intoxicated. The only problem with this karaoke party was that there was a lack of alcohol.

Not wanting to receive another snowball in the face however, I continued to sing the song. Eventually we needed to restart it, but this time Katara joined in with me, and I was less nervous and embarrassed than before. We sung together and started laughing as we tried to stay in sync. Toph looked like she was smiling at our failing attempts to sing, and I knew we needed to get her in on this.

"Come on Toph, We wouldn't want Aang or Sokka to think I'm bonding with Katara here," I laughed.

"That's great, you two make a cute couple," She grinned.

Katara and I looked at each other in disgust. "As if," I huffed.

"He isn't my type," Katara agreed.

"Yeah, you're into younger guys," I snickered.

"What does that mean!?" She snarled.

"Nothin'," I giggled. Katara whipped me with some water, but instead of gasping in pain, I laughed out loud.

"Agh! What is THAT sound?" Toph moaned, pointing in the direction of the Ipod that was still in Katara's hand. Katara scanned the screen and I realised what was playing.

"Rage Valley," I said. They both gave me blank stares. "You know…wub wub wub wub?" I asked. I still received those confused looks from them. "Dubstep?"

"What's dubstep?" Toph asked.

"It's what's playing," I replied.

"You said it was Rage Valley," Katara replied.

"No, the genre in Dubstep, the name of the song is Rage Valley," I cried, slapping my hand onto my forehead. "My god, you people don't know anything about music," I grumbled.

"Whatever you say," Toph laughed. I grabbed my Ipod from Katara and turned it off.

"Anyway, that was actually kind of fun," I laughed.

"See? I told you it'd be fun," Katara smiled.

"What have you been doing here all day?" Toph asked me.

"I've been thinking," I replied. "I was thinking about home, how long I've been here, you know, the usual,"

"Oh right…we never did have luck finding the man who sent you here did we?" Katara sighed.

"I didn't know we were looking for him," I laughed. "No, I'm sure he'll find us…" I trailed off as I realised that I was going to be eventually leaving. I was going to have to say good bye to my friends.

"Are you ok?" Katara asked.

"Yeah," I replied in an unconvincing tone. "I just…I don't know…I don't exactly want to leave,"

There was silence that followed.

"I mean, I don't want to say good bye and never see you guys again, and-" I was interrupted when both girls gave me a huge combined bear hug.

"We get it," Katara said. "I don't think any of us want to say good bye either,"

"What would I do without my number one fan?" Toph giggled as they released me.

"Thanks," I awkwardly smiled. "I love you guys too, just don't tell Sokka I said that,"


	24. Episode 24: Lake Laogai

That morning, Sokka was busy drawing a variety of missing posters of Appa, apparently, before I woke up, the gang decided to get some posters ready to see if anyone knew where Appa was. Toph was relaxing near the water tribe warrior, letting Momo lick her feet. I started to look over Sokka's drawings, and before I could comment on his…art…Katara and Aang burst into the house.

"We found a printer to make our posters!" Katara announced, holding up a missing poster of Appa.

"Wow, those look much better than Sokka's drawings," I noted.

"How can you say that? I've been working all morning on my Appa," Sokka pulled up one of his drawings. I looked like a crewdly drawn peanut with lines coming out of its sides. I stopped myself from laughing.

"Sokka, the arrow is on Appa's head," Aang said.

"This is his head!"

"Why are feet coming out of it?" Katara asked, taking a closer look at the picture.

"Those are his horns!" Sokka cried, ripping the image from his sister's hands. "I haven't seen him in a while ok?"

"I think it looks just like him!" Toph smiled. I lost it and burst out laughing.

"Heh, heh, that's…haha…that's a good one," I managed to breathe.

"How about we just stick with the professional version?" Katara suggested. Sokka growled as he ripped his pictures apart.

"Come on! Let's get busy!" Aang lead us outside. He then handed us each a bunch of posters, and we walked towards the most populated areas of Ba Sing Se. We started to post the posters on walls and street corners where we thought people regularily walked by. After we finished posting the images, we all headed back home. Aang arrived shortly after.

"Has anyone come with news about Appa yet?" Aang asked.

"It's only been a day," Katara replied. "Be patient," We all sat in silence for a few seconds, and suddenly, a knock was heard at our door. Aang eagerly ran to the door and opened it violently.

"Joo Dee?" Aang gasped.

"Hello, Aang and Sokka and Katara and Toph and Fred," The smiling woman said. We all approached her, I was curious as to what happened to her at the party we crashed not too long ago.

"What happened to you? Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?" Sokka asked.

"Jail? Of course not! The Dai Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage," She replied as if she were giving us a piece of trivia.

"But you disappeared at the Earth King's party!" Toph replied.

"I simply took a short vacation out to Lake Laogai, out in the contry, it was quite relaxing"

"But they replaced you with someone else who claimed to be called Joo Dee!" Katara said.

"I'm Joo Dee," The woman replied with a strange smile.

"Am I the only one getting creepy vibes from this exchange?" I asked.

"Why are you here?" Aang wondered.

"Dropping fliers and putting up posters isn't permited without proper clearance,"

"We can't wait around to get permission for everything," Sokka protested. Joo Dee's smile widened.

"You are absolutely forbidden from putting up posters,"

Aang's face turned into a bright red and he swiftly stepped in front of the smiling woman.

"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES AND WE ARE NOT ASKING PERMISSION!" He shouted. "We're finding Appa on our own and you should just stay out of our way!" He slammed the door in Joo Dee's face, he was taking deep breaths.

"That might come back to bite us," Sokka sighed.

"I don't care! From now on, we do whatever it takes to find Appa,"

"Yeah! Let's break some rules!" Toph cheered. She stepped forward and punched, exploding the room to her right and putting a large hole in our home.

"THAT WAS MY ROOM!" I cried. I couldn't come up with any more words as I stood there, frozen.

"Come on," Katara giggled, pulling me away from my destroyed room.

We found ourselves back in the market, posting more posters together. I was armed with a bucket of glue and a nice pile of posters. I would methodically paint the walls with a stroke of glue, them firmly press one of the sheets of paper over the sticky substance.

"We'll split up to cover more ground," Sokka suggested. He turned to Toph. "Maybe you should come with me,"

"Why? Because you think I can't put up posters on my own?" She growled. She ripped the brush out of Sokka's hand and violently splashed some glue on the walls behind her. She then grabbed a page from Sokka and slammed it onto the wall. It would have been impressive if the back of the paper was not the side that was facing us. We all stood in silence for a bit.

"It's upside down isn't it?" The girl asked. He shoulders dropped a little as she handed the brush back to Sokka. "I'll just go with Sokka,"

"Or you can…oh…never mind then," I muttered as the duo walked away. I heard a giggle behind me. I turned and saw Katara holding her hand over her mouth. When she noticed me staring at her, she simply shook her head and left. I headed off on my own, stopping every few feet to post a poster on posts and walls (try saying that 3 times fast).

I was in the middle of posting my 20th poster when all of the sudden I heard what sounded like a rushing river nearby. I started to wonder what a river would be doing in a city like this, when my brain suddenly concluded that this was the work of a water bender, and the only other water bender in this city was Katara. I instantly dropped everything I had and started to run towards the racket I was hearing.

"I don't want to fight you," I heard a strangely familiar voice say. The statement was soon followed by the sound of cracking rock. I turned a corner and I soon found myself in an alley. There was Katara, who had pinned a boy's arm to a wall with ice spikes.

"What's going on here?" I asked Katara. I heard the footsteps of Sokka, Toph and Aang approaching.

"Jet's back," She growled. I turned to see a boy with tanned skin and long messy hair. He wore some home made armor, and at his feet were his trademark Hook Swords. Memories began flooding back as I remembered who exactly Jet was. He had given us a temporary home way back when and tried to get us to help him drown a town controlled by the Fire Nation. I was beginning to wonder why he was in Ba Sing Se.

"What are you doing here?" I asked the trapped boy.

"We can't trust anything he says!" Katara cried.

"But we don't-" Sokka began.

"I don't care why he's here! The reason can't be good!"

"I'm here to help you find Appa!" Jet said. He dropped a roll of paper that was in his hand, it was one of our posters.

"We have to give him a chance," Aang said, turning to Katara.

"I swear, I changed! I was a troubled person!" Jet said.

"You certainly were troubled," I nodded.

"I've put all of that behind me!"

"You're lying!" Katara snapped. Toph stepped forward and placed her hand and the wall that Jet was trapped against.

"He's not lying," Toph countered.

"How can you tell?" Sokka asked.

"When people lie, there is a physical reaction, his heart beat would accelerate and his breathing would change. He's telling the truth,"

I brought my hands up and melted the ice spikes that pinned Jet to the wall. He looked at me with a surprised expressiong. The last time we met, I didn't know I was a water bender, so he probably thought I was just a normal person…that is until now. I flashed him a grin.

"Katara, we have no leads, if Jet can take us to Appa, we have to trust him," Aang said. Katara's shoulders slumped, and she nodded in defeat.

Jet turned to me. "Since when are you a water bender?" He asked. "You told me you weren't a bender,"

"I didn't know I was one," I shrugged. "Anyway, we have a bison to find, let's not waste any more time,"

Jet led us to a large barn-like building. We stepped inside only to find that the building was empty. "This is the place I heard about," Jet told us.

"There isn't anything here," Aang remarked.

"If this is a trap…" Katara growled.

"I told you, two guys were talking about some giant furry creature they had in here and I figured it might be Appa,"

"He was here!" Toph's voice rang out. We turned to her and she was holding a small clump of white hair.

"We're too late," Aang sighed.

"They took that thing yesterday, shipped him out to some island, about time, I've been cleaning up all day," We turned around and found an old man with a broom behind us. I had no idea where he came from or who he was, and his sudden interjection was rather…odd.

"What island? Where's Appa?" Aang asked, running towards the old man.

"Some rich royal type on Whale Tail Island bought him up, guess for a zoo or something,"

"We've got to get to Whale Tail Island!" Aang cried. We turned to Sokka who had already pulled out a map. "Where is Whale Tail Island?" Aang asked.

"Far," Sokka replied. "Very far," He placed the map down on the floor and pointed to a small island near the South Pole, almost all the way back home,"

"Something isn't right," I mumbled. Everyone turned to me.

"What do you mean?" Toph asked.

"Doesn't anyone think that the recent events are suspicious?" I asked. "I mean, Joo Dee goes missing at the party, we are threatned by the Dai Li who clearly know something about Appa, and now all the sudden we learn that Appa is all the way down to the South Pole? This seems all too…strange,"

"But we don't have any other leads!" Aang replied. "We have to go to Whale Tail Island,"

"Aang's right, we need to follow up on this lead, it's all we have," Sokka rolled up the map and signalled for us to go.

"I'm coming too," Jet said.

"We don't need your help," Katara snapped.

"Why can't you trust me?"

"Gee, I wonder," Katara snarled.

"Was this guy your boyfriend or something?" Toph asked.

"Oh believe me, she was all over him when they first met," I smiled.

"No I wasn't!"

"I can tell you're lying!" Toph giggled.

We found ourselves on the streets, walking towards the train station. Sokka was planning our trip as we walked, making a mental list of the transports we'd need to take and estimating how much time the total trip would take. We were almost out of the market district when a voice stopped us.

"JET!" It cried. We all turned and saw two of Jet's gang memebers.

"I thought you didn't have your gang!" Katara snapped.

"I don't!" Jet protested.

"Jet! We were so worried! How did you get away from the Dai Li?" A girl who looked an awful lot like a boy asked. I remembered that this was SmellerBee. A boy stood behind her, he had a straw hat and a bow. That was Longshot.

"Did you just say…Dai Li?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jet asked.

"You got arrested a couple of days ago, we saw you get dragged off!" Smellerbee protested.

"This doesn't make any sense, they are both telling the truth," Toph observed.

"Don't tell me, the Dai Li did something to Jet didn't they," I gasped. We all turned to Jet.

"He's been brain washed!" Sokka concluded. We all started to approach Jet.

"What? No…no that's can't be," He gasped. Jet looked at us, eyes wide and panicked. "Get away from me!" He cried. We grabbed him, and we easily over powered him.

We dragged Jet to a small apartment in the poor area of Ba Sing Se. There, we tied Jet to a chair, making sure that he couldn't hurt us, or himself.

"The Dai Li must've sent Jet to mislead us, and that janitor must've also been part of that plot," Katara said.

"I called it!" I cried, throwing my fist up in the air. Everyone gave me blank stares. "Ok, not the right time, sorry,"

"He must still be in the city, in the same place they took Jet, where did they take you?" Aang asked.

"We need to find a way to jog his real memories," Aang sighed.

"Maybe Katara can kiss him,"

"Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka!" Katara growled.

"Try to think of something from your past, something that triggers your emotions," Toph suggested.

"The Fire Nation!" Smellerbee exclaimed. "Remember what they did to your parents,"

"Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable with the idea that we are forcing him to remember the brutal murder of his parents?" I asked.

"No! It's too painfull," Jet cried, his face drenched in sweat. Katara walked behind him and drew her water.

"Maybe this will help," The water began to glow, and she placed it against his head. Jet let out a yelp.

"They took me…they took me to a place underwater," He said. "Like a lake,"

"Wait…Remember what Joo Dee said? She went to a Lake Laogai," Sokka cried.

"That's it! Lake Laogai!" Jet nodded.

We quickly left for Lake Laogai, it was located far away from any residential area of Ba Sing Se, a small ways outside the walls. The lake looked like any other lake, with green vegetation growing around it and a beach on it`s western side. A heavy fog blanketed the area, making it difficult to see more than a couple of meters in front of us.

"So where is this secret headquarters?" Sokka asked Jet.

"Under the water, I think," The ex-rebel replied. He looked uneasy, and I couldn't blame him. Who would want to re-visit the place where you were brainwashed?

Toph stepped forward. "There is a tunnel right there by the shore," She pointed to our right and walked over to the spot she described. She stepped forward and brough her fist up, and a small walkway with a capped tunnel rose from the water. We all followed Toph onto the walkway towards the sealed tunnel. She opened it, and I had a sudden surge of vertigo as I looked down into the tunnel. It was a long, long way down, and I couldn't fly like Aang, meaning I had to climb down the small flimsy ladder that stood against the walls of the tunnel.

After a long and motivational conversation, I was finally convinced to climb down into the dark underground secret Dai Li base. We slowly inched our way forward, peeking around corners and being a quiet as we could be, which was difficult seeing as we were 8 people. We walked down an empty hall lined with steel doors, and Jet started to whisper about his time in the Dai Li headquarters. We passed by a door that was cracked opened, and what was inside chilled me to the bone.

"I am Joo Dee, and welcome to Ba Sing Se," a Dai Li agent said as he faced a crowd of women dressed in the same clothes are our guide. They all repeated the words in a zombie-like fashion.

"God…This place is creepy," I whispered.

"You're stating the obvious," Toph whispered back.

"I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead," Jet informed us. We came up to a large steel door, and Jet slowly opened it, revealing a large hangar like room inside. Chains hung from the ceiling, giving it the look of a newly decorated touture chamber. Now that I think about it, that's probably what that room used to be.

We stepped into the dark room, and when we were a good distance away from the door, it closed itself behind us. Torches were lit, illuminating the entire room, and hanging on the chains were Dai Li agents.

"Now that's something different," Sokka remarked.

"You have made yourselves enemies of the state," Long Feng, the head of the Dai Li, growled at us. He stood at the opposite end of the room. "Take them into custody," The Dai Li from the ceiling jumped down and surrounded us. They punched forward and rock hands were shot at us from every direction. I whipped out some water and slashed two rock hands in half. Toph exploded two of her own, and Jet charged a duo of Dai Li agents. We all jumped into action, each of us engaging at least on Dai Li soldier.

I ran towards one of the two agents that shot a rocky hand at me, slashing my water in his direction. Longshot took the other one that attacked me, allowing me to focus on just the one. I spun and send a quick whip towards him, he ducked and answered with rocky spikes in my direction. I hopped over to the side while shooting an ice ball at him. It hit my opponent square in the face, knocking him to the ground.

I got up and turned around. Toph was busy fighting four Dai Li agents at once. She displayed an incredible amount of skill as she stopped, blocked or redirected attacks from her opponents. She knocked down her four opponents when she was suddenly grabbed from behind by a stone hand that yanked her into the air. I shot a small ice pellet in the direction of Toph and busted the rocky hand that was holding her. Before I could run over to catch her, however, Jet managed to grab her and land her safely.

"Long Feng is escaping!" Aang cried, pointing at the Dai Li leader who was disappearing behind a wall. Aang and Jet chased after him, however, the rest of us were too busy with Feng's Dai Li to chase after them.

"Guys, we need to finish up quickly, they may need our help!" I cried.

"Who needs our help?" Toph asked from my left.

"Didn't you see Aang-"

"No,"

"Oh, sorry,"

We continued to fight with the Dai Li, and we eventually pushed our way through the hole that Aang and Jet went through to chase after Long Feng.

"Which way did they go?" Smellerbee asked.

"I'm going to the left, you coming?" Katara asked us as she sent a streak of water at a charging Dai Li agent.

"How do you know it's the right way?" I asked.

"Women's intuition," We ran down the hall, stopping every now and then to block incoming attacks and to retaliate. We made it to a large steel door that I assumed lead into another hangar.

"I can't open the walls if they are still on us!" Toph growled.

I moved my arms, stealing Katara's water and adding it to my own. I expanded it into a large snowball and sent it flying down the hall from where we came from, knocking over our pursuers.

"It it quiet now?" I asked, turning to the earth bender.

"Yes, thank you, fan boy," She turned to the door and busted the walls around it, allowing us to enter into the room. Inside, was another hangar, and Aang and Jet were in the middle of the room. Jet was flat on his back, and a rock stood in front of him. He must've been hit by an attack from Long Feng. We approached Aang and Jet, the freedom fighter was weezing, and from the look of his chest, I knew he wasn't going to make it.

"This isn't good," Katara gasped.

"We'll take care of Jet, you go find Appa," Smellerbee sniffed.

"We won't leave you," Katara replied.

"There is no time," An unfamiliar voice said. We all turned to the silent Longshot. I never heard him speak before, until now. "Just go,"

"Don't worry Katara, I'll be fine," Jet weezed. He gave us a grin, but I could see pale red bubbles forming around his lips.

"It was an honor," I nodded. We slowly left the room, leaving the three freedom fighters alone. We didn't say a word as we ran in the halls, checking room after room. Eventually, we found a large room with six shackles, big enough to hold Appa.

"Appa was here!" Aang gasped. "Where did they take him?"

"Probably towards the surface," Sokka suggested. "Come on, we have no time to waste,"

There was no time to run all the way back to the ladder, so Toph lead us to a wall that was close to the lake's shore and made us an express path out of the Dai Li base. The sunlight blinded me as I stepped out onto the beach, but my eyes adjusted quickly.

We were in front of a cliff face, and behind us. Dai Li agents jumped out of the exit we created. We started to run away from them along the side of the lake.

"You think we can outrun then?" Sokka asked.

"It's not going to matter," Aang replied. I turned to see a line of Dai Li blocking our path. They created a wall of earth, and the Dai Li behind us created their own wall. On the cliff face hung more Dai Li agents, we were trapped.

We heard the familiar squeaks of Momo who came down from the cliff. We left him at home earlier today, so it was strange seeing him out this far from home. "What are you doing here?" I asked the leamure, he barked a few sounds then flew off, leaving us. Suddenly, from the direction that Momo left came Appa. The large Bison growled angrily as he smashed through the walls that the Dai Li had created, clearing a path for us.

"Appa!" We all cheered. Toph and Aang were quick to attack the confused Dai Li, and with ease, they sent them into the Lake. Katara and I froze the water, trapping our enemies.

Appa landed in front of Long Feng, who proceeded to try to attack the large animal. Unfortunatley for him, the Bison had quick reflexes, and caught his foot. Appa shook him around for a few seconds, then sent the Dai Li leader flying into the lake. Long Feng skipped on the water's surface like a small pebble before diving under.

When all was quiet, we all ran towards Appa and gave him a big hug. His fur was softer than I remembered, and his lazy groans were music to my ears. I didn't realise how much I missed the big guy.

"I'm glad you're back dude," I laughed while scratching Appa under his chin. Aang seemed almost intoxicated with the Bison's presence, it was a heart warming sight and I couldn't help but widen my grin for them.

We soon found ourselves flying in the air. Katara looked down at the lake with sad eyes, thinking about Jet. Aang placed his hand on her shoulder, and the two of them hugged. Suddenly, Sokka and Toph threw their arms around them, leaving me out of the group hug.

"Hey…don't I get…never mind," I sighed.

"Don't worry, you get one too!" Toph laughed, throwing her arms around me, along with Sokka and Aang.

"Ok, don't want one anymore!" I cried, pushing them away.


	25. Episode 25: The Earth King

We stopped on a small island near Ba Sing Se. Aang was still clinging onto Appa as if his life depended on it, but I didn't say anything. I decided to let him enjoy his reunion. While Aang was with Appa, the rest of us were discussing what our next move would be. Sokka wanted to tell the Earth King about the coming eclipse and to expose Long Feng, but the girls were of a different opinion. We knew that Long Feng would be waiting for us, and that he'd try to paint us as the villains, but Sokka felt as if luck was on our side for a change.

"Come on, help me out here," Sokka turned to me.

"Look, I don't know what we should do, it's not like I have a crystal ball that can see the future," I replied. "I think that, if we go see the Earth King, we can expect heavy resistance, and what would that make us look like if we started fighting the King's guards?"

"Fred's right, besides, Long Feng's conspiracy with the Dai Li is too rooted, we should just keep moving and leave this city behind," Katara said.

"I'm with sweetness, I say we leave this horrible place behind," Toph nodded.

"But now that we have Appa back, there is nothing stopping us about telling the Earth King about the conspiracy or the war!" Aang said, jumping next to us.

"See? Aang's with me! It's the whole reason we came here in the first place, we have to try!" Sokka begged.

"Well, I suppose if he knew the truth, things could change," Katara thought.

"I don't trust this new positive Sokka," Toph grumbled as she got to her feet. "Long Feng brain washed you didn't he!?"

We heard a distant horn, and we turned towards the water. On the lake were three boats slowly moving, and they each had the distinct earth kingdom symbol.

"That's probably the Dai Li searching for us, decision now please," Sokka turned to Katara.

"Let's fly," Katara nodded.

We found ourselves in the air, flying as fast as Appa could go. Toph had her face buried into the Bison's back, and she looked like she was clinging on for dear life.

"Can we please get a new saddle!? Ridding bare back is terrifying!" She cried.

I placed an arm around her, holding her close. "Hey, we've done crazier stuff in the past, it'll be fine," I smiled. She did not seem to calm down; in fact I think she wanted to punch me, which made me laugh. We were above a large building standing on a large platform.

"That whole thing is the palace," Sokka said, pointing at the large monument. A small artificial river surrounded the building, and small bridges curved over the water. "The Earth King's chamber should be in the center,"

"We have to be careful, Long Feng probably already warned the king about us," Katara said.

"Why would you assume that?" Sokka asked. "If you ask me, I think we're going to be able to-"

A boulder was shooting up at us, and Appa glided out of the way. Toph gave out a surprised cry and demanded to know what happened.

"Surface to air rocks!" Sokka cried. "More incoming!"

"They certainly look happy to see us!" I cried as Appa glided to the right and weaved his way through the flying rocks. I turned to my right and saw a boulder headed straight for us, I gave off a yelp, but Aang blasted the boulder into pieces with a quick arm movement. Another flew straight for Appa's head, and Aang sliced the incoming rock in half.

We started to descend straight towards the main entrance of the palace, and standing in front of the building was a sizezable amount of guards. Aang leaped off Appa and smashed into the ground, sending a shockwave of earth at the soldiers, knocking them over. Appa landed, and the rest of us got off. We started to sprint towards the entrance. Aang and Toph took the lead, and as soldiers started coming from our sides and front, they acted as shields from their projectiles. Aang would deflect the various rocks and boulders that were coming from our sides while Toph andvanced forward, deflecting attacks from out front.

Katara and I started to retaliate with our bending, knocking over guards in between their shots. We were moving through them with such efficiency I was beginning to wonder why we didn't usually organise our attacks like this. Everytime Katara would hit a guard, she'd apologize for it, which was rather comical because of the speed at which she threw her attacks.

We approached the artificial river and the bridges in front of the Palace. Guards ammassed infront of the doors, and they sent two enourmous statues at us. Before the giant stone ornaments could crush us, Aang and Toph created a protective dome above us. I could feel the vibrations in the earth as the statues smashed into our shield, the feeling sent a shiver down my spine.

Katara bolted out from our cover and ran towards the guards on the other side of the river. She created a small ice ramp which she used to jump over the river, and she pulled water out of the small stream. She then sent a number of guards tumbling into the water, which Aang froze as we stepped over the bridge.

Above us, at the top of the stairs, a number of guards came running towards us. I pulled water from the stream and encased myself in ice.

"I got this," I grinned, running ahead. A boulder smashed into my shoulder, and I was thankful that I had the armor, as it protected my bones from breaking. After regaining my balance from the blow, I sent a couple of liquid projectiles at the oncoming soldiers, knocking quite a few to the ground. Suddenly, Toph stepped forward.

"Allow me," She said. She brought her hands up, and after a few seconds, she crounched into a horse stance and brough her hands down. The stair case turned into a ramp, and the guards that were running on it lost their footing and slid all the way down. Aang stood next to Toph, and both of them started to rotate their arms. The earth around us started to move up the newly created ramp at high speeds, and we quickly escalated the ex-stairs to the front doors of the palace.

We ran into the palace, and we soon arrived at a four way intersection. Guards came running at us from the three halls, and Toph stepped forward and crouched down. Pillars grew from the earth, pinning a number of the guards to the ceiling. I rolled over the girl's back and sent my own projectiles at the guards, freezing them to the walls.

"Nice tag team!" I grinned at the girl.

"Not the time! Toph, which way to the Earth King?" Sokka asked, looking down each hallway.

"How should I know? I'm still voting we leave this place!" Toph replied. Sokka ran down one hallway, then soon returned. He then checked the one to our left, and came back once again. Finally, we chose to go down the hallway in front of us. We sprinted down our chosen hallway until we came to a large decorated door.

"Now that's an impressive door," Sokka remarked. He ran towards it and attempted to kick it open, with no luck. Aang came up behind him and smashed the doors open with a powerful gust of wind. Inside was the throne room. The king sat in his throne, and Long Feng was with him. Dai Li agents ran in front of their king, ready to attack us.

"Not these guys again," I groaned.

"We need to talk to you," Aang said to the king.

"They're here to overthrow you!" Long Feng countered.

"Ha! That's rich, coming from the guy who secretly controls the city with his agents," I laughed.

"We're on your side," Sokka said.

"You have to trust us," Katara added.

"You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door and you expect me to trust you?" The king asked.

"He has a good point," Toph sighed.

"Hey, we needed to get his attention somehow," I shrugged.

"If you're on my side, drop your weapons and stand down," The king ordered.

"If the Dai Li leave, I'll drop my weapon," I said. Everyone turned to me. "What? You can't expect them to play fair," In our distraction, our hands were grabbed by the Dai Li's projectiles. We were trapped.

"Hey, you expect to treat the Avatar like this?" I growled.

"The Avatar?" The king asked. "You're the Avatar?" He pointed at me.

"Do I look like an air bender to you? It's him!" I nodded my head in Aang's direction.

"What does it matter? They are enemies of the state!" Long Feng growled.

Suddenly, The king's bear came out of nowhere and approached Aang. It smelled him a little, then licked him, causing the boy to laugh. I couldn't help but gasp as I saw it again.

"It's a real bear!" I gasped.

"Bosko seems to like him," The king smiled. "I'll hear what he has to say," Long Feng had a grim expression on his face, but he didn't protest. Aang stepped forward.

"Well sir, there is a war going on right now, for the past 100 years in fact, and the Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city and you,"

"A secret war?" The king gasped. "That's crazy!"

"Completely," Long Feng agreed.

"Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he stole our Sky Bison to blackmail us. He also brainwashed our friend!" Aang cried.

"All lies," Feng calmly protested. "I've never even seen a Sky Bison,"

"Your claim is difficult to believe," The king sighed, sitting into his throne. Long Feng approached him and whispered something into his ear. The king's face contorted into a worried expression, and then he addressed us. "I have to trust my advisor,"

"Oh wait, he's your advisor?" I gasped. "Those guys are always evil! Haven't you read one story in which the advisor didn't turn out to be a bad guy?"

"This isn't a story boy," Long Feng smiled.

"Wait, I can proove he's lying!" Sokka exclaimed. "Long Feng claims that he's never seen a Sky Bison, so ask him to lift his robe,"

"What!?" Long Feng gasped.

Aang took a deep breath and blew a gust of air at Long Feng, lifting his robes. The bite mark from Appa's teeth was visible to all of us. "Right there!" Aang cried. "Appa bit him!"

"That happens to be a large birth mark," Long Feng growled. "Thanks for showing everyone,"

"I suppose there is no way to prove where those marks came from," The king sighed.

"Are you dense? Forensic science can solve that!" I cried.

We were allowed to bring Appa into the throne room. We opened the Bison's mouth and showed the king how his teeth were shaped, and then we compared the marks on Long Feng's leg to Appa's teeth. The king concluded that we were telling the truth about Appas's capture.

"However," The king said. "It doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory,"

"So Long Feng would capture Appa just for fun?" I asked. "That doesn't really make sense to me,"

"I suppose we could look into it," The king shrugged.

We talked the king into coming with us to see the Dai Li's headquarters. He came with us, accompanied by an escort of soldiers, all of which were bruised up from our previous battle. We stepped onto a train together, and we caugh the eyes of all of the citizens of Ba Sing Se. The king must've been nervous as he kept on watching all the eyes that studied him.

"This is what a train is like?" The king asked, as if trying to break the ice.

"You've never been outside the upper ring before?" Katara asked.

"I've never been outside the palace," The king corrected her. "May I ask where exactly are we going?"

"To Lake Laogai, your highness, you're about to see where all the brain washing and conspiring took place,"

"I think we should take him to the wall," I said. "You know, the giant drill, would be faster and more to the point,"

"We can show him that on the way back," Katara suggested. "Either way, he'll get the truth,"

We eventually made it to Lake Laogai, however, the king was rather slow at following us. I didn't really like him, his upbringing made him rather…soft. He didn't know how to get off the train, could barely walk more than a few meters without having to take a pebble out of his shoe…it was rather irritating.

When we made it to the shortline, Toph stepped forward and brought up the tunnel that leads into the secret base. The only problem was that, there was no secret base left.

"Oh no! Don't tell me…It's ok, I still have my positive attitude," Sokka breathed.

"The Dai Li must've known we were coming and destroyed the evidence," Katara suggested.

"Well…yeah, they were in the room when we decided to come here," I mumbled.

"This all seems rather convenient," The king sneered. "This is a waste of time, I'm going back to the palace,"

"Did you forget about the wall? We did say we'd show you the giant drill," I stepped in front of the king. "And the Dai Li wouldn't be able to hide something like that in a moment's notice,"

"No Earth King has ever gone to the outer wall, I will waste no more time on this nonsense!"

"If you come with us, we'll let you ride on Appa!" Aang smiled.

We somehow all managed to fit on the Bison's back, and the king was having a blast. He was cheering and screaming as Appa sped up and slowed down.

"This is increadible!" The king cried. "It's both terrifying and exilerating!"

"Yeah, I hate it too," Toph mumbled as she clutched tightly to Appa's hair.

"I have to be honest, I really wish that what you are saying about this war isn't true," The king sighed.

"I wish it wasn't," Aang agreed. The great wall of Ba Sing Se soon came into view, it stretched infinitely into the distance on either side, and like the first time, I was taken aback by the scale of this human construction. Even with bending, it must've taken dacades to complete. We glided over to the outside of the wall, and there was the drill. People were working on pulling it out of the walls, but it was still buried deep.

"What is that?" The king gasped.

"It's a giant drill, made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls," Sokka answered.

The king's face was an expression of shock and horror. Aang brought us down onto the wall, and let us off Appa. The king stood at the edge, looking down at the drill for a long time, speechless.

"I can't believe I never knew," He finally spoke.

We heard the sound of stone rubbing up against stone and turned to see what it was. Long Feng along with two Dai Li agents rose from the floor.

"I can explain this," Long Feng smiled. "It's a construction project," I burst out laughing. I was laughing so hard that my sides began to ache.

"Oh man…that's a good one," I giggled.

"If it's a project, why is there a Fire Nation insignia on it? Wouldn't you put an Earth Kingdom symbol instead?" Katara asked.

Long Feng paused as he struggled for a counter. "Your highness, you don't believe these children over your most loyal attendant!"

"Dai Li! Arrest Long Feng!" The king barked. The Dai Li agents acted swiftly and held Long Feng. "I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom!"

Long Feng was dragged away by his fellow Dai Li. My companions all seemed rather shocked by the Earth King's orders, but hey, we weren't going to complain. By the time we made it to the palace, night had fallen over the world. We stood in the throne room, and the king looked rather exhausted.

"I want to thank you for opening my eyes," He said. "All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis was really a city of fools, and that makes me the king fool," He buried his face in his hands. "We're at war…with the Fire Nation!"

"That's why we came to Ba Sing Se," Sokka said. "We think you can help us end the war,"

"A comet is coming, and when it arrives in the summer, the Fire Benders will become unstoppable," Aang explained.

"But before that happens, a solar eclipse will take place, allowing us to invade the Fire Nation when they will be at their most vulnerable, The Day of Black Sun"

"I don't know…That would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se, We'd be completely vulnerable,"

"You're already vulnerable, the Fire Nation won't stop until this city falls," Sokka replied. "You can either wait until that happens, or give yourself a fighting chance!"

The king though for a moment, and it was a painful silence. We could see him weigh his options are he considered the senarios. Finally, he came to a decision. "You have my support,"

We all cheered and hugged each other. Things were beginning to look up, we were going to finish this soon! Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me. It was like my body was sensing something terrible was going to happen, like a long memory was trying to claw its way into my brain.

"Are you ok?" Toph asked me.

"Yeah, I'm-"

"I can hear your heart beating and your ragged breathing,"

"Oh…Something…isn't right," I whispered. "I can't say what…but let's just say, luck is never on our side,"

Before Toph could reply, we were interrupted by a man entering the room. He was a large burly soldier who looked like he was a general or something. He bowed to the king and apologized for interrupting.

"This is General Hao, he's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking Generals!" The king proudly explained.

"We searched Long Feng's office, I think we found some thing that might interest everybody," The General announced.

Hao lead us to Long Feng's office and lead us to a table. A small chest was placed on the table in front of the king, and Hao told us that Long Feng had files on everyone in the city. I don't think any of us were surprised, well, no one other than the king who seemed rather appaled. He reached into the chest and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Toph Bei Fong," He said, handing it to the blind girl. Toph handed it to Katara who read it.

"It's a letter from your mom! She's here in the city, she wants to see you," Katara said. Toph's expression changed into what looked like a mix of shock and sadness, but she quickly composed herself.

"Long Feng intercepting our messages from home? That's just sad,"

"Aang," The king pulled out another letter and handed it to the Avatar. He opened it and scanned the contents of the letter.

"Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?" Katara asked.

"I'm afraid not, but there is an intelligence report that might interest you," Hao answered, handing a small scroll to the siblings. They scanned the report and their faces brightened up. It was a report about a group of water tribe warriors defending an area from Fire Nation troops, and the leader was Katara and Sokka's father.

"There is a something else in here," The king said, pulling up a large diamond from the chest. "It look's like something is inside, but I can't read it."

"Let me see," I said, reaching for the diamond. The king handed it to me and I rotated the jewel trying to see what the black lines inside were. I gasped when I could make out English words.

"Enjoy yourself, time is almost up," I read. My hands started to shake and sweat slowly formed on my brow. I had almost forgotten about the man in the hat and the deal I struck with him.

"Is something wrong?" The king asked.

"This is for me," I replied. "It's a…reminder,"

We were left alone in the office. We formed a circle in front of the desk, each of us holding our messages. "A guru is at the living at the Eastern Air Temple, he sais he wants to see me," Aang said, showing us his letter (which I could not read, seeing as it was not in English).

"What's a guru?" Sokka asked. "Some kind of poisonous blow-fish?"

"No, it's a spiritual expert, he wants me to take the next step in the Avatar journey!" Aang smiled. "He sais he can teach me how to control the Avatar State,"

"And I can't believe we know where our Dad is now," Katara held up the report.

"I know what you mean," Toph nodded. She was clutching the letter, holding it close to her chest. "My mother is in the city, and based on what's written…it sounds like she finally understands me!"

Their faces turned towards me. I looked back at them for a moment, waiting for them to say something, but they remained silent. I realised they wanted to me tell them what exactly I had received.

"Oh uh…me?" I nervously laughed. "Just some diamond, we could use it for…money,"

"You're lying," Toph sighed.

I looked down at my knees. "It's a reminder," I whispered. "A reminder telling me that my time is almost up…I'll be leaving soon…and I'll need to repay the deal," A silence hung over our heads for a few moments. I almost laughed.

"Sorry, I just killed the mood didn't I?"

"It's fine, don't worry, you'll be fine," Aang said.

"Well this is all such great news! I mean most of it! Where do we start?" Sokka asked.

"I hate to say it, but we need to split up," Katara sighed.

"Split up!? But we just got Appa and got the family back together!" Aang protested.

"You have to meet this guru, Aang. If we are going to invade the Fire Nation, you have to be ready,"

"If I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple, then Appa and I can drop you off at Chameleon Bay to see your dad!"

"Someone needs to stay behind to help plan the invasion, That's me," Sokka said.

"No, I know how much you want to see dad, I'll stay," Katara protested.

"You are the nicest sister ever!" Sokka exclaimed. He ran over the Katara and hugged her.

"Settle down there big brother, but yes, I am!"

Aang and Sokka were getting ready to leave Ba Sing Se, so Katara, Toph and I stood with them, saying our good byes. We were in front of the palace, it was a beautiful sunny day and very few clouds hung in the bright blue sky.

"Katara, I need to tell you something," Aang mumbled awkwardly as she turned to the girl.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Katara…I…"

"Oh man, are you confessing?" I asked.

"What?" Katara asked. Aang's face turned into a bright red.

"Aang and Sokka," We turned around and saw the king. He had come to see us to say good bye. "I wish you a good journey, Ba Sing Se owes you its thanks, and we look forward to your safe return,"

A soldier approached the king. "Your majesty, there are three female warriors here to see you, they are from the Island of Kyoshi,"

"That's Sukki!" Sokka exclaimed.

"You know them?" The king asked.

"The Kyoshi warriors are a skilled group of fighters, trustworthy too; they are good friends of ours!"

"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests!" The king smiled.

We were left alone, all of us stood around Appa in silence. "I'm really going to miss you guys," Toph eventually moaned.

"Yeah," Aang agreed as he and Katara gave the earth bender a compassionate hug.

"Well, you won't exactly miss all of us," I grinned. "I'm going with you, see you off and all that,"

Everyone in the group formed a large hug before Aang and Sokka jumped onto Appa and left. After waving good bye to the two boys, Katara gave both Toph and I one final hug.

"You treat her right," She said, smiling at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Don't I treat everyone with the utmost respect?"

"Come on, fanboy, I'm sure my mother's dying to see you again," Toph said as she started to walk away. I quickly chased after her after saying one last quick good bye to Katara, and both of us were on our way to the address that was written on Toph's letter.

"Is there a reason you're accompanying me?" Toph eventually asked.

"I got nothing better to do," I replied. "I'm like the outcast of this group, I got no family here, no connections, nothing,"

"You know…I really AM going to miss you guys," She sighed.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm going home, Aang doesn't need me anymore, my parents finally want me as myself and you…you'll be leaving soon, forever,"

"Thanks for reminding me," I moaned. She giggled a little.

"So why exactly do you think Katara told you to treat me right?" Toph grinned.

"What?"

"You know, there is a reason why I call you fanboy,"

"Because I made a fool of myself the first time we met?" I asked.

"Well you were cheering loudly, but no, it's because of how you seem to follow me everywhere,"

"We are in a group,"

"That's not what I mean," Toph sighed. "I mean, like back when those three girls were chasing us, you seemed to approach me quite a bit, and when I tried to leave you grabbed me, and not to long ago, when we were putting up posters…well you get the idea,"

I stopped walking. "What are you suggesting?"

"Are you dense or something?" Toph laughed. "It's almost like you're trying to get my attention!"

"Hey Toph?"

"What?"

"We're at the house," I laughed, pointing at the home that was indicated on Toph's letter. We made it to the front door, and Toph froze. "Nervous?" I asked.

"A little," She turned to me and gave me a hug. "Thanks for coming, I really am going to miss you,"

I placed my arms around her and gave her a pat on the back of the head. "Yeah, me too, I'll miss all of you," We released each other and turned towards the door. Toph gave off a huge sigh and knocked on the door twice before opening it.

"Hello?" She asked into the dark home. We stepped in, and I was wondering why no candles were turned on, or why all of the windows were covered with sheets.

"Mom? Anyone home?" Toph stepped towards the middle of the room, and I followed her at a slower pace. We heard a sound, and suddenly, a metal box fell ontop of Toph, trapping her.

"What the-!?" I cried. I heard the sound of breaking stone coming from my left, and I dove out of the way of a large boulder.

"What's happening? Who did this?" Toph exclaimed.

"We're under attack!" I replied. I looked towards the box and saw to familiar faces. It was the earth bending teacher Master Yu and Xin Fu. We last saw them in Toph's hometown.

"Looks like we found her," Yu smiled. "I guess we should get going, we don't want to keep her parents waiting,"

"We have him to deal with first," Xin Fu growled as he pointed at me.

"Wait, you mean her parents sent you here to kidnap her!?" I cried.

"What!?" Toph exclaimed from inside the box.

"They only wish for the safe return of their daughter, your group was doing the kidnapping!" Yu replied.

Xin Fu stepped forward and sent a barrage of rocks in my direction. I rolled out of the way and slipped in behind a decorative pillar. I uncapped my water and prepared myself for a fight.

"She isn't going anywhere!" I cried as I stepped out from behind the pillar and sent a streak at Xin Fu. My attack smacked him in the face, but it only got a growl out of him. "Oh right, he's a wrestler," I mumbled. He retaliated by sending spikes in my direction. I spun out of the way and threw a heavy ball of ice at my opponent. Yu quickly erected a rock shield in front of his ally, protecting him.

"Two on one!?" I gasped. "That isn't fair!"

"Life ain't fair kid!" Xin Fu growled. He send a rocky prong in my direction with blinding speed. I encased my arms in ice and managed to block the blow with my arms. The good news was that my arms didn't shatter from the impact, the bad knew was that I was sent flying back into a wall, and I was pinned by the prong.

I growled as I tried to free myself, but I could only really move my wrists and legs, which didn't offer me a lot of oppurtunities. Xin Fu and Master Yu turned their attention to the metal box.

"Now that he's out of the way, let's get going," Xin Fu growled.

"Fred!? Where are you?" Toph exclaimed.

"Don't worry! I'm going to get you!" I cried.

"Good luck getting yourself free," Yu laughed. "Good bye!"

"DAMN IT!" I cried as I struggled against the rock that was pinning me. The duo left with Toph, leaving me in the destroyed interior of the house. I started to breathe slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

"Ok, think, you can get out of this," I breathed. I remembered how Katara could use her breath to freeze things, and I wondered if I could do the same. I inhaled, filling up my lungs with air, then I breathed out slowly. My breath came out as a heavy mist, and soon the rock that pinned my slowly started to freeze.

"Just a little more," I breathed again, and then I started to struggle again. I could feel that the Ice had managed to displace the stone, reshaping it slightly. It felt weaker, and as I struggled I could feel it slowly coming apart. I gave one loud grunt as I managed to break the rock, freeing myself. Quickly, I ran outside, determined to get Toph back from Xin Fu and Master Yu.


	26. Episode 26: The Fall of Ba Sing Se

As I ran through the streets of Ba Sing Se, desperately asking people if they saw two men with a giant metal box (This got me quite a few odd looks) I couldn't help but think that everything was falling apart. _This can't be happening! Toph is gone! What am I going to do!?_ I suddenly stopped running when a memory hit me. I remembered what was supposed to happen at this point in the show. _Oh don't tell me…don't tell me our luck has run out._

I was faced with a decision, and it was one of the hardest ones of my life. Do I go back to warn the Earth King about Azula, or do I continue to save Toph? The memory of my friend warning me about messing with the time line resonated in my brain, he told me that, if I was sucked into a story, to never mess with the events due to the possibility of screwing things up.

_Agh! If I don't go back, Ba Sing Se will fall!_ I told myself. _But I told Toph that I'd save her…I let them capture her._ I stood there, thinking desperately. What was I going to choose? The city or the girl?

_I'm the biggest, stupidest, most cold hearted person on the face of the earth._ I muttered as I ran, having made my choice. _Hold on Toph, I'm coming!_

After receiving a few directions from a rather polite couple, I found myself exiting the city and walking down a dirt road. I felt rather confident that I'd catch Xin Fu and Master Yu, as I knew that they couldn't have gotten far…

This was before mid-day. By the time the sun was high above my head, I was beginning to doubt that I'd ever see Toph again. Not to mention that I was rather thirsty and tired from jogging and walking for hours. _How the heck did they manage to get so far ahead of me?_ I thought myself. I paused when I realised how long it took me to get directions and I groaned. _Some knight in shinning armor I'm turning out to be!_

I eventually reached a fork in the road. I paused for a bit, trying to think which way the duo went. I looked down at my feet and saw what looked like fresh wheel tracks. They went down the left track, so I decided to head that way. I prayed silently that I picked the right path, and continued on my way.

The sky was suddenly painted in an orange and pink glow. I turned to see the sun setting in the distance. "Jeez! How long will I have to travel before I find them!?" I cried. I continued to walk, this time at a much slower pace.

3 days…I walked for 3 days with no luck. I was breathing hard, and sweating like a pig, and my original enthusiasm had turned into annoyance. I wasn't even thinking about Toph by then, I was only thinking about how I would kick Xin Fu so hard that he would see the curvature of the earth. Night fell, and I still had not found the duo. I was exhausted, and my legs only wanted to collapse.

"This is…as far as I can go," I breathed heavily. Just before I could fall to the ground, I heard a faint sound…like the wheels of a chart moving. Curiously, I walked on, following the curious noise. I then heard a large crunch, like the sound of metal ripping. With renewed energy, I sprinted forward.

"It's another one of her tricks!" I heard the familiar voice of Master Yu exclaim up ahead.

"There's a giant hole in the box! How is that a trick?" Xin Fu snapped.

"It's not a trick!" Toph's voice triumphantly cried.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me, I ran all this time for nothing?" I exclaimed. I could see Toph and the two men up ahead. They shot me a quick glance, but Toph decided to attack rather than to notice me. She caught the two men between two rocky walls and sent them flying into the metal box she was previously trapped in. She then leapt forward and sealed the box shut with her hands, bending the metal.

"I am the greatest earth bender in the world! And don't you forget it!" She cried.

"Hey, great job making my rescue completely pointless," I panted.

"At least you came," She smiled. "Come on, let's head back to Ba Sing Se,"

"I think you'll have to go ahead of me…I've been running for three days," I laughed.

"Oh you big baby, come on," Toph grabbed my arm and we were suddenly flung forward by the earth. It was like we were surfing on rock and dirt…well, more like Toph, I was more like a ragdoll that was hanging off her arm.

"So, since when do you bend metal?" I asked as I awkwardly tried to stand on Toph's earth waves.

"Since about 5 minutes ago,"

"You know I could've save you," I mumbled.

Toph laughed. "You mean like you did back at Ba Sing Se?"

"That doesn't count,"

"I knew you were coming, but I decided to stop waiting for you," She winked.

By morning, the walls of Ba Sing Se were in sight. I was feeling rather jealous of Toph, she completed a 3 day journey in a few hours. I managed to hear the familiar growl of Appa as we sped by.

"Need a ride?" Sokka asked. Toph suddenly tripped. It was obvious that Sokka and Aang surprised her. As she fell, dragging me with her, I quickly reacted and drew my water, creating a nice ice slide. Toph ended up in my lap, and we slid down, landing softly on the earth (well not exactly, my butt was rather sore after that).

"You're welcome," I grinned. Toph sighed heavily and got off of me, shoving me back. We climbed onto Appa's back and headed to the city.

"So how did it go with the guru?" Toph asked Aang. "Did you master the Avatar State?"

"Uhh…" Aang looked away from us for a moment.

"You ok?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, it went great, The Avatar State is completely mastered!" Aang giggled nervously.

I looked at Aang with an eyebrow raised and I slowly shook my head. His cheeks turned red as he realised that I sensed his lie.

"Well, I've been completely useless these past 3 days," I sighed heavily. "Couldn't even save one girl,"

"Oh, you tried saving a girl? From what?" Sokka asked.

"A burly man and a skinny teacher,"

An awkward silence followed.

"Is she…ok?" Aang asked.

"Oh yeah, she's fine, turns out she took care of them before I could do anything," I mumbled, shooting a dirty look at Toph.

"Are you still going on about that?" Toph asked.

"Maybe if you would've given me a chance, I could've finally done something other than sit in the corner and do nothing,"

"What happened?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Nothing," Toph and I replied in unison.

We arrived at the palace, and Aang asked the king about Katara. Apparantly, he had a vision that told him that she was in danger.

"Katara's fine Aang, she met with my generals to help plan the invasion," He paused as he thought. "And then…she went with the Kyoshi Warriors,"

My eyes widened as he said this. _You mean they started already?_ I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. _I don't know anything; I'm as clueless as the others._

"See Aang? She's fine! They're probably back at their apartment talking about makeup or something," Sokka smiled.

"Trust me, if there was any danger at all, Bosko's animal instincts would sense it," The king looked at his sleeping bear. The bear woke up and shot us a lazy look, but he didn't do much of anything else. We left the palace and headed back at our Ba Sing Se house. The hole that Toph had blasted was in the middle of being repaired, but I guessed that the workers were taking a day off as no one was fixing it. We opened the door and stepped inside. Momo was there, and he enthusiastically greeted us.

"There is no one here," Toph remarked.

"Katara is in danger!" Aang cried. A knock was heard at the front door.

"There's someone at the door," Toph said.

"I wouldn't have guessed," I sarcastically gasped.

"Actually, I know who this is, he's an old friend," She smiled as she opened the door. Our visitor was Iroh.

"Mako!?" I gasped. Everyone turned to face me. "Uh I mean…Iroh!?" I shook my head as I corrected myself.

"I need your help," Iroh said. Aang and Sokka both gasped, but Toph just waved at him. I was rather indifferent.

"You guys know each other!?" Aang cried.

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down," Toph explained.

"That sounds so wrong," I giggled, holding the bridge of my nose as I silently cursed myself for the stupid joke.

"Get your head out of the gutter," Toph sneered.

"May I come in?" Iroh asked. Toph nodded and the old fire bender entered our home.

"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se," Iroh said.

"She must have Katara!" Aang gasped.

"She has also captured my nephew,"

"Then we'll work together to save both Katara and Zuko," Aang nodded.

"Wow!" Sokka exclaimed. "You lost me at Zuko,"

"I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you that there is good inside him," Iroh said.

"Besides, if I had to choose between being chased by Zuko or his crazy sister, I'd choose Zuko anyday," I added.

"I don't care! Good inside him isn't enough!" Sokka protested.

"Sokka, we need to work together to save both Katara and the city," Aang said. Sokka exhaled loudly, then after a pause, he nodded.

"I brought someone along who might be able to help us," Iroh smiled as he walked outside. We followed him to the front porch, and on the ground was a bound Dai Li agent. Toph restrained him further by incasing him in rock. Iroh removed the gag from the man's mouth and he started to speak.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup against the Earth King!"

"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara!?" Sokka growled as he pointed his machete at the man's face.

"In the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the Palace," We took that as our cue to leave. We piled onto Appa and flew off towards the Palace. We landed in front of the Palace and walked around the area, looking for any kind of entrance to these Crystal Catacombs. Toph suddenly stopped us and placed her hand down on the floor.

"Well what do you know, there is a cave, only it's really deep underground," She got up and created a hole in the ground.

"Alright, Aang you go with Iroh to find Katara and the angry jerk, no offense," Sokka said, turning to Iroh.

"None taken," Iroh replied.

"And I'll go with Toph to try to warn the Earth King about the coup," He turned towards me. "You might as well come with us,"

"Won't argue with that," I shrugged. Aang and Iroh descended into the hole as Sokka, Toph and I ran towards the stairs that lead to the front doors of the Palace. We were almost all the way up and Sokka suddenly grabbed both Toph and I and dragged us behind one of the pillars that lined the entrance to the Palace. Not far ahead of us, Dai Li agents were attacking one of the King's Generals.

"The coup is already happening!" Sokka exclaimed.

"We need to move!" I nodded. We had to take a detour in order to avoid running into Dai Li agents. We made it to the throne room, and inside were two of the Kyoshi warriors and the Earth King.

"Thank goodness we're in time!" Sokka smiled.

"In time for what?" The King asked.

"Yeah, what are you in time for?" One of the Kyoshi warriors asked. My heart stopped when I recognised her voice…it was Ty Lee. She flipped towards us, but I didn't hesitate. I drew my water and sent a blast at the girl, knocking her back.

"That isn't a Kyoshi warrior!" I growled. "It's Ty Lee!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Mai smiled. She threw darts in my direction, but a rock wall formed in front of me, blocking the darts.

"Thanks for that!" I exclaimed. I was about to attack Mai, but my eyes caught Azula. I had no idea when she arrived, but he was holding the king, and she had a small blue flame at his throat.

"This fight is over," She sneered. I turned around and saw Ty Lee land next to Toph and Sokka. She quickly hit a series of pressure points on their bodies, causing them to collapse. I felt stone clasp around my wrists, and I turned to see Dai Li agents falling from the ceiling.

"Damn you," I growled. My remark really wasn't directed at Azula, or Ty Lee or anyone. I was frusterated at myself for being so stupid. I had to power to stop this from happening, if I chose to save the city instead of goin after Toph…we could've avoided the fall of Ba Sing Se.

"Get them out of here," Azula smiled. The Dai Li grabbed the three of us and led us out of the throne room. We were lead underground and into a cell. The king eventually joined us in our gloomy prison.

"Damn it," I growled as I sat in a corner. "I'm such an idiot, I'm so useless,"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sokka asled.

"I could've stopped this, I could've done something,"

"What are you talking about?" The king asked.

"Why are you blaming yourself for something that was outside of your control?"

I was about to reply, saying that I knew this was going to happen, but I stopped myself. I knew that if I said the truth, they would despise me. I'd be expelled from the group, or at the very least, I'd have to live with resentment. I couldn't bring myself to say the truth.

"If I hadn't have gone after Toph…If I'd have stayed behind to help plan the invasion I could've figured it all out sooner," I moaned. "I'm useless, I don't help with this quest," I paused for a moment as I struggled to take in the truth of my words. "Everything we've been through…you guys could've done it all without me. I add nothing to this group, I'm just dead weight,"

"What are you talking about?" Toph exclaimed.

"I haven't done anything!" I yelled. "Not once have I saved anyone in this group, not once have I gave anything to help this group, I didn't save Appa back in the desert, I couldn't fight even one of the fighters at the earth bending arena!"

"I've had enough of this," Toph growled as she got up. "Sokka, is the coast clear?"

Sokka peeked outside and looked into the hall way outside out door. "Clear," He said. Toph stepped up to the door and blew it off its hinges. She then grabbed my arms and pulled me up.

"Get up," She growled as she lifted me to my feet. We ran out into the hall, making our escape. Toph lead us to the throne room, I didn't know how she memorized the way back, but I didn't question it. In the throne room, Ty Lee was busy walking on her hands in front of Bosko the bear.

"It's easy, just walk on your front paws instead of your rear ones," The girl smiled at the bear. He hands were suddenly encased in stone. Her feet came down to the ground and those too were trapped.

"That is a nice trick," Toph laughed. We turned to face Mai who looked rather bored.

"Just take the bear," The girl sighed. The king ran over to Bosko and gave him a large hug. The king lead the bear along as we made our way back to Appa. Night had fallen over the world, and when we made it back to Appa, Katara and Aang were there.

Aang had a huge wet red stain on his back, and his body was smoking. Katara didn't say a word, but the streaks on her face said everything. We silently climbed onto Appa and flew into the sky, leaving the fallen city of Ba Sing Se.

Katara turned Aang over as we flew and pulled out the spirit water she had received from Master Pakku. She placed the divine liquid on the bloody back of the Avatar. A blue light shined, and the water was absorbed by Aang's wound. Suddenly, the tattoos on Aang's body glowed for half a second, and the boy groaned. He didn't wake up though, but he was still alive.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen," The king said as he looked at what was once his city.

"It's all my fault," I whispered. No one said anything, and no one knew of the truth behind my words.


	27. Episode 27: To The Fire Nation

Two weeks have passed since the fall of Ba Sing Se. Sokka lead us to his father, and with him, we planned a new version of the invasion of the Fire Nation. This new invasion would be done by a small force of some of our friends we met during our journey. Along the way, we met the Duke and Pipsqueak, two of Jet's freedom fighters. They agreed to help us, so we added them to the force. We also managed to capture a Fire Nation ship, and we decided to use it in order to slip into the Fire Nation undetected. We also had to care for Aang during this time, as he was unconscious during these two weeks.

I was still upset over my failiure at Ba Sing Se. The others didn't understand why I was so upset, how could they? I didn't tell them about my knowledge of their world, limited as it may be, and to add insult to injury, I was useless to the group. Even with my memory flashes, I still could not help the group.

One night, I was looking out into the sea on the side of the ship. The white moon inluminated the dark water, making light dance off of the water's surface.

"Are you still moping around?" Toph suddenly asked. She managed to get close without me noticing.

"What if I am?" I replied.

"Get over it, what happened happened, no point crying over it,"

I gave a heavy sigh. "You don't understand,"

"No, I don't, you have no reason to complain and no reason to get so quiet, you haven't been speaking to anyone lately,"

"Whats wrong?" Katara asked as she approached us. Yet again, I didn't notice her approaching.

"Nothing," I replied. "I'm just lost in thought,"

"You've been lost in thought for a long time now," Toph muttered. We heard someone collapse onto the floor behind us, and we turned to see who it was. Aang had climbed out of the deck and was sprawled on the ground, looking rather confused.

"Twinkle toes!" Toph exclaimed. "That's got to be you!"

Momo flew towards the young Avatar and began licking him enthusiastically. We ran over to him along with most of the crew. Aang had grown some hair in the two weeks, seeing as he was unable to keep his head bald.

"Aang! You're awake!" Katara smiled.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," The boy yawned. He was wrapped up in bandages, and he looked like he was having trouble standing up.

"You're not dreaming, you're finally awake," Katara said as she hugged Aang.

"Good to see you back with the living buddy," Sokka laughed as he gave the Avatar a quick hug. He was wearing a Fire Nation helmet over his face, hiding his identity.

"Sokka?" Aang asked. He studied us all for a moment, then he began to loose his balance.

"Uh oh, some one catch him, he's going to-" Aang fell down onto the steel floor. He woke up after a few moments.

"What's happening? Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why are you all dressed that way?" Aang wondered.

We left Katara and Aang alone. Sokka, Toph and I all went back to our stations. Well, if you could say sitting at the side of the boat was my station. Toph followed me to my corner, she was beginning to irritate me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I want you to stop acting like a child who didn't get his rice cake,"

"Easy for you to say," I growled, turning to the blind girl. "You're not a weak link in this group, you've won fights, you've helped us at every turn, what did I do?"

"You keep talking about how useless you are, and guess what? You are useless, you are useless when you complain and when you feel sorry for yourself, man up, you won't get any girls this way,"

I froze. I looked at Toph for a long moment, and then I exhaled loudly. "You're right, if I want a girl. I'd better stop acting like this,"

"Well that always did seem like the best motivator for guys," Toph smiled.

"But how does it change anything?" I asked. "I could've saved Ba Sing Se,"

"What? On your own? Even if you did know what was going to happen, what could you have done against not only Azula and her friends, but against the entire Dai Li forces?"

I moaned as she spoke. She was right, she was entirely right. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to do anything on my own. Part of me thought of myself as a detriment to the gang, that I was holding them back. But another part of me agreed with what Toph said, and agreed that, without the team, I'd be nothing.

"Can I ask a favor?" I asked.

"What?"

"Stay with me till morning," I nervously said.

"Ha! That's a weird request," Toph laughed. "Alright, I'll stay, but if it get's too boring, I'm going to do something else,"

Morning came, and Aang was fit enough to move around. We all gathered together in order to give him an update on what happened. We told him about the new invasion plan, how we managed to capture a Fire Nation vessel and how we were on our way to the Fire Nation in order to commence the invasion.

"The best part of all of this, is that we have a secret, you" Sokka laughed as he leaned closer to Aang.

"Me?" Aang asked.

"Yup, everyone thinks you're dead! Isn't that great!?"

"What!?" Aang cried. "The whole world thinks I'm dead? That's terrible!"

"Actually it's a tactical advantage," I said. "The enemy won't be expecting you,"

"No, this isn't right…this is so messed up!" Aang exclaimed.

"Well he certainly is taking the news well," Toph remarked. A horn sounded. We all turned to face the water, and we saw a Fire Nation vessel slowly pulling up beside us. Everyone quickly put on their helmets, getting ready to fool the enemy ship. Aang however, was of a different mind.

"I'll handle this, the Avatar is back," Before he could take off on his glider, he grunted as a pain in his side hit him.

"Aang wait, they don't know we're not Fire Nation," Katara warned him. The boy slowly folded up the wings of his glider, he didn't look happy.

Hakota and Bato were going to be the ones to speak to the Fire Nation soldiers. We quickly hid Appa below deck, and we lead Aang into the ship. We all crouched down, hoping that we would'nt have to fight.

"I hate not being able to do anything," Aang growled.

"Now you know what it's like being me," I whispered.

"Quiet," Sokka snapped. Toph and Katara were hiding along with us. We had a good view of the deck from where we were hiding (maybe because we were partially in the deck). The Fire Nation vessel pulled up next to ours and a bridge was lowered, connecting the two boats. The captain of the ship came down with an escort of two soldiers. Hakoda and Bato met with our guests and bowed.

"Commander, why are you off course? All weastern ships are to head to Ba Sing Se to support the occupation," The Fire Nation captain said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"We're from the eastern fleet, we have orders to deliver some cargo," Hakoda replied.

"Ah, the eastern fleet," The captain thought for a moment. "Well, it's nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way," He muttered in annoyance.

"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect," Bato said.

"How hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?" It was obvious that this captain was not having a good day.

"Next time we'll send two hawks to make sure you get the message," Hakoda then bowed to the other captain and returned to his "duties." The three Fire Nation soldiers slowly walked back towards their ship, whispering among themselves, suddenly, Toph shot up onto the deck.

"They know!" She yelled. She smashed a fist into the steel of our ship and sent a wave towards the ramp that the enemie soldiers were on. It tipped over and sent them down into the water bellow. I instantly jumped into action, I ran towards the edge of our ship and leapt off into the water below. Katara sent a large wave at the enemy ship in order to create distance between our vessel and their boat. I then rose above the water, supported by a water tornado. I send huge blasts of liquid onto the deck of the enemy ship, trying to send as much of the crew as I could over the edge. I managed to knock off a few soldiers, but I had to bail when fire balls flew for my face. I swam back to my boat which had traveled a good distance from the Fire Nation vessel and climbed aboard.

"I did as much damage as I could, we have a few minutes to get away," I said to Hakoda who helped pull me on board.

"Let's go!" He yelled turning to our crew. We started moving at full speed, which for this boat, wasn't all that fast. Within minutes, the Fire Nation vessel started to cath up to us. They started launching their Fire Nation approved flaming boulders at us and we did what we could to avoid taking too much damage, but every now and then, a flaming projectile would smash into our boat, forcing us to seal the hole with ice.

Toph quickly ordered The Duke and Pipsqueak to give her some boulders. As soon as they dropped the large rocks in front of her, she divided them into segments that she lobbed at our pursuers. She managed to take out one of the catapults with one of her rocky disks.

"I'm going to give us some cover!" Katara Cried. She stepped up to the edge of the stern and moved her arms, the water below us began to bubble, and we suddenly had a huge smoke screen hiding us from our pursuers. Everything was quiet for a few seconds, until a flaming boulder popped through the steam and smashed into Toph's reserve of rocks.

It was my turn to step to the edge of our boat. I pulled out huge disks of ice from the water below and flung them in the direction of the Fire Nation vessel. I didn't know if I hit anyone, but as long as I managed to distract them from shooting at us, I was happy.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" I heard Aang exclaim, I turned to see him running towards the water, but Sokka caught him.

"You're still hurt! And you need to stay secret!" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let us handle this,"

"Fine," Aang snapped as he stopped back below deck. A loud bang resonated as another rock smashed into us. We cleared the steam, and the Fire Nation was right behind us.

"Can't this boat go any faster?" I asked.

"I don't think it can go as fast as it normally could, we took too many hits!" Hakoda cried back at me. Another boulder smashed into our engine.

"How are we doing?" Toph asked.

"Things couldn't get much worse," Sokka answered. A violent monstrous roar turned our attention towards the starboard side of our ship, a giant sea-serpent had emerged from the ocean and was snarling at us. "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?"

"You make it too easy!" Toph replied.

"Hey guys, it might work out to our advantage!" I exclaimed, pointing at a flying fireball. It sailed over our ship and clobbered the sea monster in the face. It snarled at the Fire Nation ship and swam towards it. It began to wrap its body around the boat, trapping it.

"Thank you, the universe!" Sokka exclaimed.

We continued to travel until we reached a Fire Nation port. We decided that it would be best for us to pick up some supplies and materials that we could use to fix the vessel, we also planned on buying ingredients for our dinner. Once we figured out our plan, we all marched over to Aang's room.

"Hey Aang," Toph smiled. "We're heading into town for some dinner,"

Aang's stomach growled as if replying to Toph. "Dinner sounds great,"

Sokka stepped forward, holding a head band. "Here, wrap this around your head,"

"I'm not going out there if I can't wear my arrow proudly!"

"Aang, come on, be pratical,"

"Why don't you all go on ahead?" Katara suggested. "We'll catch up with you,"

Sokka nodded and signalled for us to go. Toph and I walked behind him in silence. "I don't understand what his problem is," Sokka eventually sighed.

"He doesn't like the idea of being a secret," I said. "It's simple really; he just doesn't want the world to loose hope."

"That's not it," Toph said. "He doesn't want the world to think he failed," We all turned to her. "It's really obvious you guys,"

"Toph is now a psychologist?" I asked. In response, Toph punched me in the arm.

Our outing in town was rather uneventfull, we eventually ended up in a small restaurant, and Katara joined us as we were sitting down. We ate in silence for a few minutes, until Toph asked Katara how Aang was.

"He isn't exactly happy,"

"That much is obvious," I laughed.

"He has it in his head that, somehow, loosing in Ba Sing Se has caused him to loose his honor," Katara explained.

Sokka and I turned to Toph.

"What did I tell you guys?" The earth bender smirked.

"Alright, fine, we're idiots," I sighed.

We left the restaurant with some food for Aang. By the time we made it back to the boat, it was night time. Katara left us to take it to the Avatar's room. Sokka left to go over some things with the other crew members, leaving Toph and I alone.

"Well," The girl yawned. "I think I'm going to go to bed,"

"Hey," I growled, grabbing her collar. "You're not leaving me alone; I need to talk to you,"

"About what?"

"About how I screwed things up back in Ba Sing Se," I moaned, looking down at my feet.

"This again?" Toph grumbled. "I thought you were over that,"

"Well I obviously am not!" I snapped. "Look…I know what you said is true, but I really need to get this off my chest,"

"What is it?"

"I haven't been able to help with anything during this whole journey, even before we met you," I said. "I wasn't able to protect Appa from the sandbenders, I wasn't able to save you on two occasions. And when I knew that something was wrong back in Ba Sing Se, I didn't say anything about it, instead I let things crumble around all because of one stupid decision,"

"And what decision was that?"

"To fail at saving you," I replied. Toph began to laugh hysterically.

"Oh man, you really are hopeless,"

"How can you be laughing!?" I exclaimed. "I let the earth kingdom fall!"

"But that's just it, you didn't!" Toph giggled. "Even if you somehow could've known that Azula was there, what could you have done against the Dai Li?" She smiled at me for a few moments. "And I think it's kinda cute that you decided to throw yourself after me,"

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came. I stared at Toph, my brain trying to piece together what she just said.

"You're blushing," Toph remarked.

"No I'm not," I replied, turning away from her.

"You're a terrible liar,"

"I just kinda admitted to it, didn't I?"

"Yup," Toph seemed rather pleased with herself. "Well, I really am tire now, I'll see you in the morning," She left me alon under the night sky.

"Smooth," I sighed, slapping myself. "She probably thinks I'm a freak now,"

"Who think's you're a freak?"

"Gah!" I exclaimed, turning around. "Sokka! Don't sneak up on me when I'm swimming in my thoughts,"

He stared at me with a puzzled expression. "Did you seriously just say swimming in Thought?"

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just heard you talking to yourself,"

"Oh, right, well how do I put it," I thought for a moment.

"Girl problems?" Sokka asked.

"How did you know?"

"Fred, Fred!" Sokka placed an arm around my shoulders. "It's obvious when a man is longing for a woman, and I'm just the guy to come to for that kind of thing,"

"You are?"

"Of course I am!" Sokka exclaimed. "Now tell me who is it that your heart desires," He was talking like someone from a matchmaking TV series.

"I really don't want to tell you," I mumbled.

"Why not? It can't be-"

"Fine, it's Toph," Sokka's mouth instantly closed itself. I turned to face him, and his cheeks were bloated with air, and his face was all red. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"Hahaha! You like Toph!?" Sokka laughed. "Well that certainly would be a rocky relationship,"

"Did you just use a terrible pun?"

"I still got it," Sokka giggled as he left me. I stood there alone for a few moments, watching him disappear into the ship.

"What about helping me out?" I asked to no one.

…

"Wake up," Katara's voice whispered into my ear.

"No, I don't want to," I mumbled.

"Aang's gone,"

I jumped out of bed and onto the floor. "I'm ready!" I cried. I turned to face Katara who was covering her eyes. "What?"

"I think you should probably put some clothes on before jumping out of bed,"

One awkward morning later, we were all piled onto Appa's back and flying through the air.

"So where exactly are we going?" Sokka asked. "It's not like Aang told us where he was headed to,"

"I think I might know," Katara replied.

"How do you-"

"Sokka, at this point in my life, I've decided to just go with it when a woman says 'I just know'," I laughed.

We managed to avoid being spotted by the blockade. I remembered the last time we flew over this wall of ships in order to head to Crescent Moon Island, the memory made me smile. So much has happened during our journey.

Soon, the Crescent Moon Island came into view. There was no trace of the temple that used to be on it, I couldn't help but admire what a good job Roku/Aang did at demolishing that building.

"There he is!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing down at the beach of the island. Momo jumped off of Appa and flew down towards the Avatar. We landed a small ways away. And we ran up to greet the boy.

"You're ok!" Katara gasped as she hugged Aang. Sokka crouched down and hugged the two of them, and Toph joined in. Appa suddenly came up behind me, pushing me into the group hug.

"I have so much to do," Aang sighed.

"And we'll be right behind you," I smiled.

"You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation right?" Toph laughed.

Aang gave us all a warm smile. He turned to Sokka. "What about the invasion?"

"We'll meet up with them on the day of the eclipse," Sokka assured him.

"Hey what's this?" Toph asked. We turned to see that a long staff had bumped into her foot thanks to the current. "Oh, it's your glider," Toph picked up the smashed up device and handed it to Aang.

"Damn Toph, you must've really smashed a lot of nuts open for it to be this messed up," I laughed. Aang and Toph also giggled at the joke.

"Heh heh, it's ok," Aang smiled as he calmed down. "It could give away my identity, its better that no one knows I'm alive," Aang leapt up the volcano of the island and planted the demolished glider into the flowing lava. It took a few moments for the glider to be engulfed in flames. The Avatar came back down to join us, and soon we were back in the air, moving deeper into Fire Nation territory.


	28. Episode 28: The Dance Party

We flew over the ocean quickly and quietly. Sokka constantly shushed us whenever we tried to say something. We eventually descended towards a large island, Aang and I "plucked" some clouds out of the sky and used them to hide Appa from any wandering eyes. Whoever saw us might've thought we were just some strange natural phenomenon, I mean, how often do you see a small cloud flying towards the ground?

"I think I see a cave below," Aang said as he squinted, looking through our cloud.

"Shh! Quiet!" Sokka snapped. Aang threw his arms out, and the cloud that surrounded us was destroyed. Nearby birds squawked in surprise, but they didn't fly off. Sokka leaped off of Appa and hid near the large cave that Aang found.

"Great job with the cloud cammo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the type of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut," The water tribe warrior said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird hearing and turning us in," Toph sarcastically replied.

"We are in enemy territory, these are enemy birds," Sokka growled, pointing at a bird that was nested on the rock behind him. We all giggled at his strange behavior and moved into the cave. Sokka leaped over us to take the lead and he quickly scanned the cave for any threats.

"Well, this is it!" Sokka exclaimed. "This is where I'll be living until the invasion begins, in cave after cave after cave…after cave…" His shoulders slumped down. No one liked the idea of living in caves.

"Couldn't we just get some Fire Nation clothing?" I suggested.

"Yeah, if we had disguises, we'd be just as safe hiding in a crowd as we would be hiding in a cave," Aang nodded.

"Plus, they have real food out there," Toph added. She was sitting a little deeper in the cave. She smashed her fist into the wall and small white bugs fell to the ground and scurried in all directions. "Does anyone really want to sit in the dirt and eat Cavehoppers?" Momo grabbed one of the little bugs and shoved it into his mouth. The sound of crunching was heard as the lemur chewed on his meal. He looked back at us innocently, but we all shook our heads, dashing the animal's hopes.

We found a nearby home that had a large collection of clothes drying over small holes in the dirt. These holes seemed to exhale some hot air, accelerating the drying process of the clothing.

"I don't know about this…These clothes belong to somebody," Aang nervously whispered.

"I CALL THE SILK ROBE!" Katara cried as she ran towards the clothes lines. Her actions seemed to have knocked out all doubt from Aang's mind as he smiled and ran for a suit. We all collected a nice collection of clothes, and we each got into our new outfits. Aang wore some sort of fancy suit and a head band to cover his arrow. Sokka wore what looked like a soldier's uniform, but seeing as I never saw a Fire Nation soldier without armor, I could've been mistaken. I myself wore what looked like a red kimono with a belt, large pants and tall boots. I also had an under shirt with long dark sleeves that reached my wrists. The suit was surprisingly light and I didn't really feel hot in it, which was a bonus seeing as fire might be thrown in my direction at any moment.

Toph wore a dress with a cloth belt that held the attire to her waist. We were all showing off our clothing when I noticed that, for the first time, Toph was wearing shoes.

"I should probably wear shoes, but then I won't be able to see as well," She sighed. She walked over to a small boulder and sat on it. She then gripped her shoes and violently thrust her foot forward, ripping the soles off.

"You just ruined perfectly good shoes," I remarked.

"I didn't ruin perfectly good shoes, I made perfectly good shoes,"

"That's basically the same thing,"

"How do I look?" Katara interrupted. We all turned to face her, and my god was she pretty. She had a dress that stretched down from her waist, revealing her stomach. He top was sleeveless and matched her curves perfectly. Aang looked like a school boy about to ask his crush out on a date.

"Oh!" Aang gasped. "Your mother's necklace," Katara grabbed the piece of jewelry that was wrapped around her neck and sighed.

"I guess it is obviously water tribe," She removed the necklace and placed it in her pocked. We left into town and the girls picked out some jewelry the wear. Katara had a new necklace around her neck and Toph replaced her headband with what looked like a golden crown. Once we were all set, we decided to start looking for food. Before walking in the town square, Aang gave us a few tips.

"I use to visit my friend Kuzon a hundred years ago, so just follow my lead and stay cool, or as they say in the Fire Nation, stay flamin'," He turned away from us and began to strut.

No one said a word, but we were all puzzled by Aang's odd walk. Every time he walked by someone, he would mutter "hot-man," like it was common curtsey. No one returned the greeting, in fact, most people looked rather confused. Eventually, Sokka took the lead and brought us to a restaurant.

"Oh, we're going to a meat place?" Aang asked in disgust.

"Why not?" Sokka asked. "Everyone here eats meat, even the meat," He pointed at some cow-creature that was busy munching on a large pile of disposed meat.

"Is that a Hippo-Cow?" I asked.

"Yeah, do you have those where you come from?" Katara asked.

"No, I just guessed," I replied. "I think I'm getting the hang of naming these animals," We waved Aang good-bye and we entered into the restaurant. A variety of smells assaulted my nose, and waiters ran back and forth between tables, carrying plates to their customers. We all sat down at a table. Toph and Katara sat together in front of Sokka and I. Menus were delivered to us, and we all started to study the pages, well, all of us except for Toph. I nervously glanced up from my menu with pleading eyes, Katara was too busy going over the choices with Toph to notice me. I turned to Sokka who was salivating over the choices.

"Uh, can you help me out here?" I whispered to him.

"What do you think I should order? The Elephant-Tiger and fries combo or the Bat-Snake meal?" Sokka asked out-loud.

I paused. "You do realize I don't know what any of those things are right?"

"Oh right…what are you having?" There was a small silence. "You can't read that can you?"

"Please read it for me," I grumbled as my cheeks turned red. He started to list off all the available meals, but every time he suggested something to me, I would just shake my head stupidly, unsure if this animal hybrid would taste any good.

"Ready to order?" A voice asked. I took the menu from Sokka and studied it while the others ordered. "How about you?" The voice snapped me from the menu.

"Pork!" I almost cried. I was met with awkward stares from my friends. "Give me something with the word pork in its name,"

The waiter nodded, giving me a quizzical look, but he left us alone. I turned back to my friends, all of which were staring at me.

"Do people usually order their food like that from where you come from?" Toph asked.

"No!" I exclaimed. "No, I just…I just don't know what any of these creatures are," I took a deep breath. "All of their names, hell, what they look like, its all combinations of creatures that I know,"

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka asked.

"You remember your confusion when you first heard of a Bear?" I asked. They all nodded. "A bear is something normal from where I come from, same with a pig, a dog, a bat, and a cow,"

"It must really be hard for you sometimes," Katara sighed.

"Well, to be honest, it wasn't that difficult to adjust," I paused. "You've all been there for me. I would never have been able to read anything if not for you guys to read for me, nor would I have been able to have food or something to sleep on,"

"Well, glad we could've helped out," Sokka smiled.

"Seriously, thank you,"

"We'd all hug you if we weren't in a restaurant," Toph snickered.

"Oh, by the way, Toph!" Sokka grinned widely. "I have something to tell you about-"

"Hey, Sokka, did you know that if your hand is bigger than your face, you have cancer?" I interrupted. Sokka instantly brought his hand to his face in a panic. I quickly smashed his hand into his face, causing him to fall off his chair. This got Katara and Toph laughing hysterically.

"What was that for?" Sokka exclaimed as he got back up. "And what's cancer anyway?"

Our waiter arrived with our plates, Sokka had something that looked absolutely delicious, Katara and Toph had light meals, and I had…something sticky and gross. I poked it with my fork, and whatever it was started to wiggled furiously.

"What is this?" I asked with a hint of fear. "I don't think its dead,"

"Do you want me to eat that?" Sokka asked.

After a while, we managed to finish our meals and head outside. Aang was nowhere to be found, but we weren't worried. We figured that he'd be back at our cave. We eventually made our way back to camp, only to find Appa and Momo alone.

"Where's Aang?" Katara asked nervously.

"Oh don't worry about it," I said. "I bet he's just somewhere, doing Avatar stuff and-"

"AANG CAN'T BE DOING AVATAR STUFF!" Sokka yelled. "WE NEED HIM TO STAY A SECRET!"

"Ok mister military, I'm only trying to calm to lady down," I mumbled.

"Twinkle Toes is fine," Toph said. "He always get's out of trouble somehow,"

"You're telling us, he once turned into a giant fish monster in the North Pole," I laughed.

"What?" Toph asked.

"Long story," I replied holding my hands up in the air.

I proceeded to tell Toph about the siege at the North Pole, how we fought to defend the Northern Water Tribe. As I told the story, I realized just what exactly it was that I had lived through, and not only that, but I was rather surprised that I actually fought at all!

"Anyway, in the end, Aang managed to draw on the powers of the spirits and he managed to push back the invading army," I thought for a moment. "Hey, Sokka, what happened to General Zhao?"

There was a pause. "I don't know," Sokka gasped. "Wasn't he chasing us, why did he suddenly stop?"

"You don't think that maybe he…kicked the bucket?" Another pause followed.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm just glad we haven't seen him again," Sokka sighed.

As the day drew to a close, we began to wonder where exactly Aang was. Katara, of course, was flipping out. She constantly suggested that we go out to look for the Avatar, but Sokka and I kept on shooting down her suggestions. There was no need to chase after him, as it'd be easier for him to find us if we stayed in the cave. Eventually, after Toph and Sokka managed to get a fire going, Aang showed up. He had a large grin on his face, and soot covered his body.

"Where were you!?" Katara exclaimed. "We were worried sick!"

"YOU were worried," I corrected.

"I was invited to play with some kids after school,"

That caught Sokka's attention "After what!?"

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school,"

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Sokka fell to the ground in defeat.

"I have to agree with him," I muttered. "It's not a good idea,"

"We got our outfits," Toph reminded him. "What do you need school for?"

"Every minute I'm in that classroom, I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation," He pulled out a sketch of a man with a decorative head piece. He had strong features and cool eyes. "This is Fire Lord Ozai," Aang explained.

"I think this is too dangerous," Sokka sighed. "What would we do if you were caught?"

"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river that leads right to the palace," Aang sighed in mock sadness. "We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow,"

"I am a fan of secret rivers," I face palmed when Sokka started to think about it. "We'll stay a few more days,"

"FLAMEO HOT-MAN!" Aang exclaimed in victory.

I really wished things would be simple at least once. I would've loved to just wake up one morning, for us to travel a few hundred miles, without any obstacles or any inconvenient problems popping up to stop us. No, our journey was not simple in any way. When Aang got home, he dropped a bomb shell.

"You need to bring in your parents!?" Sokka yelled in absolute terror.

"I don't know what to do!" Aang cried.

"What happened?" I sighed. Aang told me about the fight at school, how the other student attacked him and faked an injury when he tripped.

"Well, looks like we need to fill in those roles." Katara sighed.

"Yeah, makes sense that you'd be the mom," Toph giggled.

"What are you implying?" Katara growled.

"Ok, but who will be my dad?" Aang asked.

"Well, I could-" Sokka began.

"No!" I cried. "There is no way that you could pass as a father,"

"Ok, then what about you?" Toph suggested.

"Do I look like I'm related to Aang?" I asked.

"You all look the same to me," Grinned the blind girl.

"I got a better idea," I sighed. "In a nation like this, I'm sure they honor the military, so we can say that Aang's father died while serving the military," My friends all looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I won't get into specifics, but if this nation is like any country from home, to be able to do the things they do, its people need to be patriotic. Giving Aang this kind of back story might help him gain a bit of slack and get him off the hook," I explained.

In the end, that was what we went with. Katara dressed herself as a pregnant woman and took Aang to school. We wished for the best as we stayed behind. Sokka was busy grumbling about how bad the idea of sending Aang to school was, and Toph and I simply nodded our heads in agreement every time he addressed us.

"So tell me, how is it that you came up with the whole dead dad thing?" Toph asked me.

"It's easy for me to draw parallels between the country I lived in and the Fire Nation," I sighed. "Believe it or not, I don't think the Fire Nation citizens really mean harm to the world, I think that they see this war as an attempt to help the world,"

"How could they have a twisted view of the world?" Toph asked.

"Tell someone a lie long enough, and they will start to believe it," I replied. "Every country in my world is guilty of the crimes committed here, I've seen of heard of all of this before," I laughed. "You could call me a Fire Nation citizen in a way,"

"Don't worry about it," Toph punched my shoulder. "I think you're a good guy,"

I felt my heart beat slightly faster. I don't know why, but the combination of the words "good" and "guy" being used in one sentence to describe me made my face feel hot.

"Are you alright?" I heard Toph laugh. I cursed as I remembered her ability to feel heartbeats.

"Shut-up," I mumbled, turning away.

I looked up and saw Katara and Aang returning. The Water-Tribe girls pulled the pillow out from her shirt and untied her hair. Sokka ran up to Aang, and he didn't look happy.

"That's it, no more school for you!"

"But I'm not ready to leave, I'm having fun for once," Aang protested. "You don't know what it's like to be a normal kid for me. You get to be normal all the time,"

I burst into a fit of laughter. "Sure, he's normal,"

"Listen, those kids are the future of the Fire Nation, if we want to change this place for the better, we need to give them a taste of freedom,"

"What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire-monsters?" Sokka asked.

"I'm going to throw them a secret dance party!" Aang smiled as he did a little dance.

"NO!"

Despite Sokka's protests, we decided to help Aang organize his little party. Katara and I went into town to purchase some candles while Toph and Aang got the cave ready with their earth bending. By the end of the day, we had fixed up the cave to have tables and chairs, a stage for musicians and plenty of light to illuminate the interior.

"I can't believe we're having a dance party, it seems so…silly," Sokka said.

"Don't think of it as a dance party, think of it as a cultural event, celebrating the art of fancy footwork,"

"So… A dance party?" I asked.

Toph suddenly ordered us to stop bending, saying that our guests were near. Aang hid Appa deep into the cave, and soon, a large group of kids all dressed in uniforms that were identical to the one Aang wore stepping into the cave. We all greeted them, and Aang led the musicians onto the stage that Toph created. They began to play, and Aang seemed satisfied with the music. I turned to the kids and saw that none of them were dancing. One of the kids stepped forward and looked at Aang nervously.

"Now what do we do?" He asked. I could barely hear him over the music.

"This is when you start dancing!" Beamed the Avatar. His answer was met with a lot of protests. Aang sighed, and began to speak. "Listen guys, dancing isn't something you think about, it's a form of self expression that no one can take away from you."

"Maybe things were different in the colonies Kuzon, but we don't do that here," A boy said.

"Sure you do!" Aang countered. "I happen to know a few classic Fire Nation dances," Aang proceeded to show off a few dance moves to the kids, and after a few nudges of encouragement from Aang, they all started to dance. Some of the kids free-styled while others tried out Aang's moves.

"Who knew that Twinkle-Toes could dance?" Laughed Toph over the music. We were all sitting at a table, a small distance from the crowd.

"You did," I answered. "Isn't that why you call him Twinkle-Toes?" That got me a punch.

"Why don't you show us some dance moves?" Katara asked me.

"I'm no dancer," I replied, taking a sip from my drink.

"Come on, you said you didn't sing, but that didn't stop you,"

"You forced me to sing!" I protested. I felt some earth push me out of my seat and move my feet. I clumsily moved across the cave as Toph would send small pockets of earth beneath my feet to make me move. She was subtle enough to avoid detection, making me look like a complete fool. Many of the kids laughed when they saw me awkwardly step and tumble across the dance floor. I eventually managed to stand and step back to my seat. Toph and Katara were laughing.

"Hey Toph, you finished your drink?" I asked. Toph answered no between giggles. Before she could question why, I grabbed her drink and dunked it onto her. She had a look of utter shock on her face, and Katara just laughed with more ferocity.

"You can't say anything about that," I said, sitting down. "You deserved it," I knew I was going to pay for that later, but I didn't care.

"Hey Toph, what happened to you?" The voice of Aang asked from behind us.

"Nothing," She grumbled. Aang nodded, he then turned to Katara and extended his hand.

"I don't know, these shoes aren't right for dancing," She nervously mumbled. I was extremely tempted to call her out on that, but I held my tongue. Aang looked deep into the girl's eyes and smiled.

"Take my hand," He softly said. Katara smiled and followed him to the dance floor. Aang whispered something into her ear, and she nodded. They then started to dance, locking wrists together and circling around one another. Soon, a circle formed around them as everyone watched their dance.

"Aang, everyone's watching,"

"Don't worry about that, it's just you and me," The boy smiled.

They continued to dance, and as the music picked up, their movements became faster and more aggressive. They started to flip around, and move all around the circle that the kids had formed. They eventually finished, both of them were breathing hard, but their number was rewarded with cheers from the kids.

"I take it you won't do something like that with me?" I asked the drenched Toph next to me. She simply huffed and turned away from me. I laughed, and told her that I'd dry her out later.

"He's the one we want! The one with the headband!" A voice suddenly rang out in the cave. The music stopped and all of us turned to face the cave entrance. There was an old man dressed in a uniform surrounded by three soldiers. He was pointing at Aang who had a surprised look on his face. He ran into the crowd of kids, and the soldiers pursued him.

When one of the soldiers grabbed a kid with a headband, my heart stopped. When I saw the kid's face however, I was relieved to see that it wasn't Aang. I could see kids putting on headbands in the crowd; all of them had mischievous smiles on their faces.

We took the opportunity to slip away through the back of the cave. Toph sealed the tunnel behind us as we left the party without drawing any attention to ourselves. We all piled onto Appa and soon we were flying through the air once again.

"Looks like we're safe," Katara smiled.

"Alright Toph, hold still," I raised my arms and pulled the fluids out of her hair and clothes. As soon as she was dry, her fist flew forward and clobbered me in the face. "Worth it," I groaned as I started to massage my cheek.

"Way to go Aang," Toph smiled as she turned to the Avatar. "I really do think you helped those kids, you taught them to be free,"

"I don't know, it was just a dance party,"

"Sometimes, the small things we do in life bring about big changes," I said in a deep wise voice, earning a few giggles from my companions.

"Whatever the case, it was some dance party, Aang," Katara leaned forward and kissed the Avatar's cheek, causing the boy to blush a deep red.


	29. Episode 29: The Painted Lady

**I apologize ahead of time for this chapter, it isn't my best, but I'm posting it to get in the habit of updating this again. Seeing as I'm so close to finish it, I might as well finish it, right?**

**I want to thank all of you who have read this far into the story, I really appreciate it! Leave a review if you haven't, I like to know what people think, and how I can improve my writing. Thank you!**

* * *

"Ugh, do we have to swim through this?" I gagged as the wind picked up, forcing the smell of the brown and rather thick liquids of the river into my nose. Sokka had ordered Aang to bring Appa down into the river, seeing as the cliffs on either side would hide us from any weary eyes. Despite my protests, Aang complied and we were down in the disgusting river.

Aang had decided to go for a swim in the water. I had no idea how he managed to ignore the gunk that polluted the water, but I didn't really want to know. Momo chased after Aang every time the boy would pop out of the water. Sokka was sitting towards Appa's rear, fishing for something to eat.

Momo eventually caught the Avatar, getting a giggle out of the boy. Aang suddenly looked down at the water and leaped out onto Appa.

"Hey guys, I think this river is polluted,"

"Thank you, captain obvious," I groaned as I held my nose. Aang took a deep breath and brought his hands close to his chest, spraying us with dirty water. By dirty water, I mean it's so dirty that it's almost like mud. Needless to say, we were all splashed with the filth, and everyone let out cries of protest. Aang quickly blew us dry, but I still didn't feel clean.

"I little warning next time," I exclaimed.

"Sorry," Aang half-giggled.

"I guess that's why I can't catch any fish," Sokka said, reeling in his line. "Normally, my fishing skills are off the hook!" When there wasn't a reply, Sokka leaned in closer to us. "Get it?"

"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook," Toph smiled. That got us laughing, well, everyone but Sokka.

"Looks like we'll need to stop somewhere for food," Katara sighed. "Assuming that'll fit into Sokka's master schedule,"

Sokka pulled out a long piece of parchment that had colored bars on it. Naturally, I couldn't read it, but even if the text was in English, the colors and odd set up of the schedule made me doubt that I'd ever make sense of it.

"It's do-able, but that means only two potty breaks today," Sokka said as he studied the schedule.

"Maybe we can get food there," Aang suggested as he pointed to a small village in the middle of the river up ahead. We flew up on top of the cliffs and hid Appa under some moss. We then readied our Fire Nation disguises and headed towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the village.

"Where is this village?" Asked Toph. "I don't feel anything,"

"That's because it's in the middle of the river," Sokka explained.

"Sure is!" A voice cried from down below. We looked down to see an old skinny man sitting at a dock. He waved at us, showing that he was prepared to give us a lift to the village. "My name's Dock, mind if I ask who you are?"

"We're from the Earth Kingdom colonies," Katara answered nervously.

"Wow, colonials, hop on! I'll give ya a ride into town!" We made our way down to the dock and stepped on the boat. As soon as we were all settled, Dock began to row. Our boat slowly inched across the thick water, and once again, I felt sick.

"Why is the river so polluted?" I asked.

"That's thanks to the Fire Nation factory just up stream. The army makes its metal there, and all of their waste is dumped into the water. We used to be a fishing town you know, but now we're just struggling to survive,"

I shot a worried look at my companions, who all looked equally disturbed by Dock's story. I found myself thinking about how we could help these people, but then I remembered our deadline, and I worried that we might not have the time to make it at the meeting spot before the invasion if we helped.

Dock pulled up to the village and tied the boat to one of the posts that held up the town. We each climbed off the boat, except Toph. I realized that her blindness didn't make exiting a boat easy, even if she could see through vibrations, she could only see on the boat. To my horror, I saw Sokka reaching for the earth bender's hand. I instantly shot my hand forward and helped her onto the platform. Sokka shot me a confused look, and Toph seemed rather confused at the speed at which I pulled her up, but she held onto my arm anyway, causing me to grin slightly.

We walked through the town, looking for anything that looked like a shop. Instead, we only found sad faces of various villagers. Not one person looked healthy, and everyone was deathly thin, including the children.

"We've got to do something," Katara sadly whispered.

"Absolutely not!" Sokka exclaimed. "We have a bigger mission that we need to stay focused on, these people are on their own,"

We were all shocked to hear Sokka so coldly turning his back on these people. Our mission never changed before, yet we were able to help others, why should it be any different now? The only person who could speak was, of course, his sister.

"These people are starving and you're turning your back on them!? How can you be so heartless?" Katara yelled.

"I'm not turning my back, I'm being realistic! We can't just go around helping every village we come across,"

"Helping every village never seemed to be a problem before, why can't we do it all the sudden?" I asked.

"In case you have forgotten, we have a tight schedule to stick to, and a limited number of days to make it to the meeting point for the invasion!" Sokka growled.

"Hey loud mouth, maybe you should be a little quiet when talking about the invasion," Toph whispered as she slapped her hand over the water-tribe warrior's mouth.

"My point is," Sokka said, removing Toph's hand from his lips. "We should be reasonable about this, you guys know that our mission comes first,"

"I guess you're right," Katara sighed.

We eventually found what looked like a store. An old man was facing away from us behind the counter. Sokka rang the small bell on the desk to get the man's attention. The old man turned, and we were greeted by Dock's face.

"Hey Dock, you work here too?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not Dock, my name's Shoo, Dock's my brother," Dock (or in this case, Shoo) said.

"But we just saw you, you're even wearing the same clothes, the only difference is your hat," Aang said. I noticed that Dock was now wearing a tall white hat instead of the tall orange hat he had.

"Dock works on the docks, that's why they call him Dock. I work in the shop, which is why they call me Shoo,"

"I don't get it,"

"Me neither," Shoo disappeared behind the counter and came back up with a tray of decaying fish and clams. I nearly lost the contents of my stomach right then and there, but I managed to hold it down.

"I'll give you all a deal, if you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free!" Sokka poked the clam, and gunk oozed out of it. That was what sent me to the edge of the platform and cause me to throw up.

"We'll just take the fish," Sokka muttered in disgust. "Mind telling your brother that we need a ride back to shore?"

Shoo wrapped up our fish and handed it to us. Once he was done, he dove under the counter and rose back up, this time with his orange hat.

"Hey colonials, my brother says you need a ride!"

We followed him to the docks. Along the way, Katara handed one of our fishes to a small sick child. The sight was heart breaking, and once again, I felt the urge to help these people.

Once we were back at our camp, Aang and Toph got to work on extracting clean water from a bucket of polluted gunk. I got a fire going and Katara was stirring our food in a pot of boiling water above the flames. Sokka was pacing around us, studying his schedule.

"Our detour into town today has completely thrown off our schedule," He exclaimed. "It's going to take some serious finagling to get us back on track," We groaned in response.

"Looks like we'll need to wake up 43 minutes earlier every day,"

"43 minutes!?" Katara gasped.

"Hey we only have a few weeks to make it in time for the invasion and the eclipse, which by the way, only lasts for 8 minutes,"

"Question!" I exclaimed. "You never said how we would pull off an 8 minute invasion,"

"We won't be invading during the eclipse," Sokka explained. "We'll be attack a little bit before the eclipse, and we'll only use that time to take out the Fire Lord. So if we are to remain on schedule, and make the most out of this attack, we need to wake up early!"

"I'm not waking up early," Toph huffed as she laid herself down on the dirt.

"Well, we could just cut out all of our food breaks," Sokka snapped.

"No way!" We protested.

"How about this, we take food breaks and potty breaks at the same time," Every one spat their food in disgust.

"No thanks, I've had enough of polluted food for today," I groaned.

"Hey, it might be gross, but it's efficient. Either way, we have to leave first thing tomorrow morning,"

That night, I dreamed. It's been a while since I last had a dream, so this one surprised me. I was sitting in my room back at home, only everything in it was gone, save for my bed. I walked towards my door and tried to open it, but it was locked. I turned around and saw the man in the top-hat sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Having fun?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your adventure, I was just curious and wanted to know if it's been everything you hoped for so far,"

I paused. I wasn't sure if I should answer that question. Was it a trick? Was it to give him an excuse to finish our deal early? He grinned when I remained silent.

"I'll take that silence as a yes, don't worry, the deal isn't over yet, I promised to get you after your adventure was over," He laughed.

"But what if-" I stopped myself when he shot me a glare. I don't know why, but something about the way he looked at me cause me to shut up.

"Don't tell me you want to back out of our deal," He growled. He pulled out the contract that I signed. I remembered him burning that thing, but I guess it was his method of putting it away.

"You signed a contract, once you sign it, you can't back out,"

"What do you want?" I asked. "You told me that you wanted payment, so what do you want?"

"For a contract this large, I really do need something or great value don't I?" I grinned. "When this is over, you will give me your liver,"

I paused. "My what?"

"Your liver, an important body part, it filters out all unwanted toxins in your body, creates chemicals necessary for digestion-"

"I know what it does," I interrupted. "Why the hell would I give you an organ that I need to survive,"

"Because this was the adventure of a lifetime!" He laughed. "I not only transported you into another world, but I grated you powers, real powers. Not only that, but you've been gone for nearly a year, this wasn't a small feat, this was a large order, so I demand a large pay,"

"But I'll die,"

"That isn't my problem, you agreed to the terms,"

"You never said you'd be taking vital organs from my body!" I yelled. "You tricked me!"

"Not exactly," The old man smiled. "I only left details out, but if you would've asked for them, I would've answered,"

"You jerk!"

"I've been called worse,"

"You won't get away with this," I growled. "I won't let you play with me this way,"

"Ha! Good luck trying boy, I never loose!" With those words, he vanished, and my room shattered. I began to fall into a dark abyss, screaming as I was swallowed by the darkness.

I woke up with a yell, sweat clung to my face and my heart was pounding against my chest. I looked up to see Aang standing over me, his face had a look of concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked me.

I didn't answer, instead I felt like curling into a ball and crying. He told me he was going to kill me, that the price for this adventure was my life. I didn't want to die, and especially not for some stupid deal. I felt tears roll down my cheeks, I whipped them away and sighed heavily.

"I'm going to die when this is all over," I whispered.

"What?" Aang asked in alarm.

"You heard me, that is the price I have to pay for coming here," I paused. "Don't tell the others, please,"

"Why wouldn't I tell them, this is serious, maybe we can help, we could-"

"No," I growled. "I don't want to get you guys mixed up in this…this is my fault, I didn't ask enough questions, so I have to deal with it," I bowed my head slightly. "And I don't want them to worry about me…It'd just be better if they think I got home safely…"

"That's not right!" Aang protested. "You need to tell them eventually,"

"Aang!" I almost yelled. "Just…shut up. I need time to think, I need to come to terms with this. Don't tell anyone,"

"They deserve to know," He insisted.

"Just leave me alone,"

There was a short pause. "We're going into town to get some medicine for Appa," The Avatar said.

"Is he sick?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, we think it was because he swam in the river," He started to walk away, but then he turned towards me. "If you want to come, just give us a shout,"

I was then left alone as Aang went to prepare for the second outing to the village. I sat there, thinking about what I would do. I sure as hell didn't want to die for this adventure, as fun as it was, it wasn't worth dying over it. My thoughts went back to the dream I had a long time ago, about my friend telling me that I'd have to trick the man in the hat. _Ok, but how exactly do I do that? I don't have a severed arm lying around the place that I could offer him._ I thought to myself. I realized that I needed to clear my head, and an outing into town would do just that.

I met up with the group as they were leaving the camp. Aang continuously shot me these looks, but I did my best to ignore him, I wasn't exactly ready to tell everyone about my predicament. Dock gave us a ride across the water, and we were soon in the village. Something surprised us though…everyone seemed healthier than before. They were still skinny, but they all looked less sick.

"Hey Shoo, what's with this place all of the sudden?" Sokka asked the shop keeper as we approached him.

"Something amazing happened last night!" Exclaimed Doc- I mean Shoo. "Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person; The Painted Lady!"

"Who's the Painted Lady?" Asked Katara.

"The Painted Lady is part of our town's lore, they say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in times of need,"

"Sounds an awful lot like a water bender use to live here," I noted.

"Water Bender!?" Shoo gasped. "What are you saying!?"

"Just saying that this town might have, at one point, been a mix between water benders and fire benders living here, before the war,"

"Well, whoever this Painted Lady is, she's here to help these people, so we don't need to be here," Smiled Sokka. Katara shot him a subtle look of disagreement. "We need medicine for our sick friend," Sokka said, turning to Shoo.

"Sorry, all of the medicine we have goes to the factory, that's why we have so many sick people,"

Sokka sighed heavily. "Then do you have any more food to sell?"

Shoo pulled out two fishes. "Would you like the one headed fish or two headed?"

Sokka scratched his chin.

"You're seriously not considering-" I started.

"Two headed!"

I slapped my forehead. We managed to get back to our camp, and as much as I hate to admit this, we ate the two headed fish. I'm sure it guaranteed me to die of some horrible disease in the future, I hoped that eating this would cause liver failure, that would teach that old man a thing or two!

The next day was uneventful; I had a dreamless night, which was a relief. We went back into town, bought some more food, and Katara and Sokka got in a slight argument. I had a feeling that Katara was sneaking out helping these people, the way she seemed to glow with pride as we walked through the village, and the hurt on her face when Sokka mentioned how lost these people would be if the Painted Lady suddenly left. I didn't say a word because I didn't want to rat her out. If I did that, Sokka would've lost it.

To say that my suspicions of Katara sneaking out at night were confirmed would be an understatement. Not only was I violently woken up from my sleep by an enraged Sokka the next day, but we all heard a large BOOM coming from the factory. Katara and Aang showed up minutes later, looking like kids that snuck out to do questionable things.

"Hi..Sokka, we were just out on a morning walk!" Stuttered Katara when she saw her angry brother. I didn't know why I had to stand next to him, it was rather embarrassing.

"Oh really? A MORNING WALK!?" He opened up Katara's sleeping bag, pouring out loads of grass.

"I know everything!" Sokka growled. "I know about you sneaking out and feeding Appa purple tongue berries!" He pointed to Toph who opened her mouth to reveal that she was eating some of the berries. Her tongue was completely purple.

"Maybe she just swam in the poisonous river," I joked.

"We don't have time for stupid jokes!" Yelled Sokka. "You put our entire mission in danger!" He pointed at his sister. "We're leaving!"

As we packed out things, the sound of motors reached our ears. I wondered if this world even had the technological capacity to even develop motors for speed boats, but I was dragged towards the cliff's edge so that we all could see what it was. Sure enough, it was a group of Fire Nation speed boats that were headed for the village.

"What did you do!?" Growled Sokka at his sister.

"I kind of…destroyed their factory,"

"You what!?"

"It was your idea!" Katara replied.

"I was joking! Did you even think this through? The army is going to blame the villagers, they're headed there right now for revenge!"

"Then maybe we should-" I started.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Questioned Katara, cutting me off.

"Leave!" Sokka snapped.

"Well, that's nice, but right now we should-"

"No! I won't turn my back on people who need me!" Katara yelled at her brother. "I'm going down to the village, and I will do-"

"Ok, you know what, while you two figure things out, I'm going to help!" I yelled. I was fed up with their arguing, so I headed down towards the water's edge, leaving my friends behind. I didn't hear their response, but it didn't matter.

The boats were nearly at the village, so I had to do something quick. As grossed out as I was, I dove into the lake. My initial thoughts were along the lines of "GROSS! THIS IS SO GROSS!" and "I am going to need 5 baths after this." My second thoughts were to create an ice wall in front of the boats. I move my arms and created just that. The boats came to a halt, and the passengers looked around for the culprit. I hid myself under the water's surface. Creating a bubble of air around my head using my bending. I swam underneath one of the boats, and sent a beam of water beneath it, sending it flying into the air.

Flames burst through the water's surface and underwater towards me. I was amazed at the heat I felt underwater, the flames managed to live long enough to be dangerous. I swam in order to dodge the projectiles. I managed to capsize another boat, but I needed to make an impression on these people, I needed to scare them away.

At least, I would've scared them away if I was all alone. Katara appeared out of nowhere, dressed at the Painted Lady and capsized the remaining boats for me. She threatened who I assumed to be the leader of the soldiers to never return to the village, and revealed herself to be the Painted Lady. The soldier nodded in agreement, and to add insult to injury, I blasted him away with a powerful gust of water. I emerged onto the dock of the village, and I was accompanied by Katara. Aang and the others soon joined us, and we were greeted by cheering villagers.

"Thank you!" Dock cried as he stepped forward, then he noticed me. "Wait a minute, what are you doing here?"

"Helping you guys," I replied, drying off my clothes as best as I could. The villagers gasped when they saw me manipulate the water.

"You're a water bender!" Someone cried.

"And you!" Dock gasped, pointing at Katara. "You're not the Painted Lady, you're that colonial girl…unless…" He thought for a moment, then his expression changed. "You must also be a water bender!"

"So what?" I cried. "We just wanted to help you guys out!"

"How dare you two act like our Painted Lady!?" Yelled a villager.

"I had nothing to do with that part," I muttered.

"Wow, hold on a second, because of them, the army is gone and their factory won't be polluting your rivers anymore! You should be thankful!" Sokka cried.

"I only helped with the army bit," I pipped up. "She did all the heavy lifting,"

"I'm sorry I tricked you all, but I just wanted to help," Katara sighed, addressing the villagers. "It doesn't matter if your Painted Lady is real or not, because your problems are real. You can't wait around for someone else to help you, you have to help yourselves,"

"She's right, but what should we do?" Dock asked.

"Maybe we should clean the river!" Toph's voice cried from within the crowd.

"Yeah! We can clean the river!" Dock stepped towards us. "You ain't so bad for water benders,"

"And you ain't so bad for Fire Nation citizens," I grinned. Dock let out a chuckle.

"You wouldn't mind keeping this a secret, right?" Sokka asked.

"Don't worry, keeping my mouth shut is a specialty of mine, my brother Shoo on the other hand is a blabber mouth," Dock laughed.

"Then don't tell Shoo," I mumbled in annoyance. "That's what keeping a secret means, Dock,"

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the river. With three water benders and an earth bender, cleaning the river was a one day project instead of a week long one. By the end the river was a nice blue color, and no longer smelled like sewage. I took a long bath with water collected from the river, and by the end, I still didn't feel clean,

The next morning, Sokka got our things ready. We bid farewell to the towns folks and then, we were off towards our destination.


	30. Episode 30: Sokka's Master

Our group was sitting under the night sky. We were about to sleep, but when a meteor shower began to shine in the sky, we decided to watch. This was the first meteor shower I've ever seen in my life, I was speechless.

"Wow," Katara said. "This is amazing to watch."

"Kinda makes you realize how small and insignificant we are," Sokka added.

"Meh," Toph yawned. "You seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times,"

Suddenly, one meteor looked as if it was much closer than the others. It streaked over our heads with a loud roar.

"You've never not seen something like this before!" Sokka exclaimed as he pointed to the falling meteor. It crashed a good distance away from us with a large BOOM! The earth shook from the impact, and this caught Toph's attention.

"Hey guys!" I exclaimed. "That landed close by, let's go check it out!" We all piled onto Appa and flew towards the crashed rock. It was easy enough to find the crash site, seeing as it was marked by a large column of smoke and lit by the glow or a roaring fire. The flames were spreading across the dry grass, and a distance away, there was a village.

"The fire is going to destroy that town!" Katara exclaimed.

"Not if we can stop it!" Aang cried. We all landed in front of the flames.

"There's a creek over there," Katara pointed towards a small body of water a few meters away. "I'll take Fred and we'll bend water over the flames," Katara signaled to Appa to pull us back into the air, and we glided over the creek. Katara and I pulled up a large volume of water from the creek, and we returned over the meteor and started to douse it. Aang and Toph were helping too. Toph was flipping earth over the flames to suffocate them, while Aang was shooting enormous gusts of wind to kill the smaller areas of the fire.

Eventually, Aang asked for some of our water, which we gave to him. He combined his water bending and his air bending together to create a large snowy explosion, which killed the last of the flames. Katara and I landed near our group and climbed off the Bison to meet them.

"Good job team!" I cheered. "But it was all me,"

"Yeah right," Toph sighed, punching my arm.

"I was just kidding,"

The next morning, we decided to go out into the town we saved. We stopped at a small food court where we ordered a meal. Aang was, of course, eating vegetarian approved food, while the rest of us had about an even split…Except for Sokka, he ordered nothing but meat.

"These people have no idea how close they came to being toasted last night," Aang said as he took a seat at our table.

"The worst part about being in disguises is that we don't get the hero worship anymore," Toph sighed. "I miss the love,"

I was about to say something clever like "You have my love!" but Sokka interrupted me before I even opened my mouth.

"Boo hoo, poor heroes," He mumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"It's just, all of you guys can do this awesome bending stuff, like flying around and putting out fires, I can't do anything…I'm just the guy who's normal,"

Toph shot me a look. "What?" I asked. "I was making valid points, I'm still useless," I turned back towards Sokka. "And I thought you were the idea guy, who…you know, solved every single problem we've come across. Like when Jet wanted to drown that town, it wasn't me who thought about just walking into the village and warning them. And the drill, we would've never taken it down without your thinking," I paused for a bit. "If anyone should be complaining it-"

"No!" Toph yelled. "Arg! I don't want to hear more self pity! I already dealt with enough of this!"

"Look, I appreciate the effort, but each of you is so amazing…and I'm not," Sokka sighed. We sat in silence for a few seconds, then Katara smiled.

"You know what will make you feel better?" Katara asked, stepping up to her brother.

"Shopping!" Sokka exclaimed in happiness. We went to a weapon's store, one of his choosing, and he was absolutely thrilled. I on the other hand, was miserable.

"Did we have to do this?" I asked. Sokka was terrible when it came to shopping. He could spend hours contemplating on an item, and sometimes, he'd regret his purchase, only to return and then re-purchase it. It was a nightmare.

"Let him have his fun," Katara whispered to me. We all started to browse through the racks of weapons and armor. There was almost everything! Nun-chucks, Glaives, Chinese War Swords, Scythes, Jians, and Butterfly Blades. The only thing that was missing was a selection of European and Japanese weapons, which I guess was to be expected.

"Ooh!" Sokka exclaimed. He stepped up to a Jian placed on display. Its handle was decorated with gold, as was its scabbard. Sokka stroked the blade as if it was a new born baby. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"You have a sharp eye!" The store keeper laughed. "That's an original, from Pian Dao,"

"Piano Dao?" I asked.

"He's the greatest sword smith and sword master in Fire Nation history. He lives in the castle just up the road from here,"

"That's it!" Aang exclaimed. "That's what you needed all along!"

"A sword?" Sokka asked.

"God, please don't give him a new sharp object, he'd swing it at everything," I moaned.

"Not just a sword, a master!" Aang said. "We've all had teachers to get better, you should see if you can study with Pian Dao,"

"That's a great idea! I could'nt have gotten this far without master Pakku," Katara smiled.

"I learned from Badger-Moles. They don't talk, but they're still good teachers," Toph said.

"Ah, so that's why you like rolling around in the dirt so much," I thoughtfully exclaimed. Everyone laughed, except Toph. She decided to punch me instead.

"It would be nice to learn from a master…" Sokka thought. He smiled. "I'll do it!"

Sokka left to go see Pian Dao, leaving us alone at camp. I was enjoying the time alone, and I think my friends were also enjoying time away from Sokka…but then something happened! We all got bored. I don't know how it happened, but the absence of Sokka's complaining or sarcastic comments seemed to make everything rather dull and uninteresting. After failing to keep ourselves busy with various activities like setting up our sleeping bags or making a fire pit (Not with bending, but by hand mind you, we wanted our activities to last), we all laid down under the sun in a circle.

"I'm so bored," I muttered.

"Me too, I picked my toes twice already," Toph replied.

"Why would you pick them twice?" Aang asked.

"The first time was for cleaning, the second time is for the sweet picking sensation,"

"That's gross," I smiled. We shared a small giggle.

"I miss Sokka," Toph sighed.

A small moment of silence hung in the air. I then breathed in, catching everyone's attention. "Would…you miss me if I were…gone?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Toph asked. "I thought you said you didn't want to leave,"

"I think he has something to say," Aang said as he sat up, looking towards me. It felt like he was trapping me, forcing me to talk about my impending doom.

"No, I'm just-" I started.

"What is it? Is something bothering you?" Katara asked as she too sat up.

"No, nothing,"

"You're lying," Toph sighed. "You can tell us what's wrong,"

"NOTHING'S WRONG!" I yelled, shooting up. Everyone looked at me with large eyes. Aang hung his head in disappointment.

"Are you-" Katara started.

"Shut up!" I cried. "I'm sorry I asked such a stupid question," I rose to my feet and walked away. As I nearly jogged away from my friend, I could feel my face becoming hot, and my vision blurred. I eventually collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down my face, the concepts of mortality and death hit me like a brick wall. I pulled my knees close to my chest and buried my face into them.

"I don't want to die," I moaned silently. It was probably the most stress I've ever felt in my life. Coming to terms with your own mortality is no easy thing, and when you have to do it on short notice, it's even harder. My thoughts turned to home. I remembered stupid things like caramel flavored coffee, roast beet, video games and school. I thought about the future I could've had if I hadn't made that stupid deal to come to this place.

My thoughts then turned to what drove me to sign the contract…It wasn't a supernatural influence caused by the old man, or stupid curiosity. I was running away from my life. I wanted to escape the world I knew, to avoid having to get a job, to stop going to school and to drop all responsibilities and run. Funny, how I've been doing nothing but helping people and trying to save the world. In running from responsibility, I only met new responsibilities.

"I found you," I heard a voice from behind me. I froze. "Are you ok?" It was Toph.

I wiped as much of the tears as I could, but I was still a mess. It was stupid though, trying to pretty myself up in front of a blind girl. "Its fine," I breathed heavily. I wasn't quite done crying.

"Doesn't sound like it," Toph replied, sitting down next to me. "You sound like you've been crying,"

"I have been," I nodded. "I'm just thinking,"

"About?"

"Home," There was a pause. "I left without saying good-bye, you know?" She nodded in response.

"I mean…I ran away from home," It felt like something was in my throat. "I dropped everything and everyone for what?"

Toph was unnaturally quiet. Almost as if my words were transmitting my feelings into her.

"I was running away," I breathed. "I ran away from my responsibilities," I paused. "And I can't even say I'm sorry,"

"It's ok," Toph said after a moment. "You'll be fine, you said that you'd have to return, right? Maybe you can set things straight then,"

_Me? Return? If only you knew,_ I thought. I felt a fist bump my shoulder.

"And the answer is yes," She smiled. "I will miss you," It was then that I felt my composure break. I couldn't handle it anymore, I needed a hug. I grabbed the girl next to me and held her close. I didn't care about the tears that rolled down my cheeks. I simply held her and quietly cried. I felt her arms wrap around me, and she held me. I broke away from her after a few seconds.

"Better?" She asked.

"Not really," I answered truthfully. "I have…a bombshell to drop,"

"A what?"

"It means I have a big announcement to make…but-"

She held her hand up. "If you're not ready to say it, don't say it," She smiled. "We'll be here when you need us, now get up, we need to get back to camp," She rose to her feet and pulled me up. For a girl that was a whole head shorter than I was, she was freakishly strong. She pulled me along towards our camp. I studied Toph as we walked, there was something else I wanted to say, something important, but with everything else that was going on, and my impending death, I didn't think it'd be fair to her.

When our camp was in sight I opened my mouth. "Why did you come to find me?" I asked.

"Katara suggested that I go," Toph replied.

"Oh," Well that was rather disappointing.

"Why? Why did you think I came?"

"I thought you were genuinely worried,"

"Hey, I'm tired of dealing with your episodes, and you must've rubbed off on Sokka to cause him to suddenly feel worthless," Toph replied. "Besides, I was thinking that it would've been a better idea to let you have some alone time,"

"I hate to say it, but Katara was right," I half laughed. We reached the camp, and I was charged by Katara who gave me a large hug.

"Are you ok?" She asked. "Did Toph find you? Did we say something that insulted you or-"

"Back off mom, he's fine," Toph sighed, pulling Katara away.

"It's fine Toph. I just over reacted, remembered some things, I'm good now, I promise," I walked over to Aang and signaled for him to follow me.

"Look, I'm not mad at you," I said when we were a distance away from our group. His features relaxed a little. "But don't force me to do this," He opened his mouth to protest, but I shushed him. "I will tell them,"

"When? You can't wait till the last minute,"

"I know, but I can't right now, I haven't even come to terms with this yet," I sighed. "When I'm ready to say it, I will,"

After that short exchange, we joined the girls and sat around in a circle. No one knew what to say, nor did we know what to do. Every now and then, one of us would sigh in an attempt to get someone to say something, but our attempts to start conversation were in vain. I eventually pulled out my Ipod and started to fiddle with it, after a moment, I found one of my games on it and started to play. I was rather rusty, and I got destroyed by the enemies, but it was a welcomed distraction.

"What's that?" Toph asked after she couldn't decipher the noise coming from my device.

"Just a game," I replied. "I forgot I had some on this, wish I would've remembered sooner, could've killed a lot of time,"

"What kind of game is it?" Aang asked, intrigued.

"You play as a knight that's climbing a tower in order to kill a tyrannical king who has killed your father," I answered. There was a slight pause. I looked over at Aang who gave me a puzzled look. "Hey, we have some violent games," I shrugged. I turned back to my screen and my character was stabbed. The blow was fatal, and a game over screen flashed on.

"Can I see?" Aang asked. I showed him the screen, he seemed impressed by the moving character models and the particle effects. But as soon as my character brutally finished an enemy, his eyes narrowed. "Is this what all games are like in your world?"

"Not quite." I replied. "We have a whole variety of games, like some are violent like this one, some are about traversing obstacle courses and others are about solving puzzles. Unfortunately, this is the only game I have on this thing, if I'd have known I'd be coming here, I'd have picked more games to bring,"

"Sokka's coming!" Toph exclaimed, interrupting us. We all instantly shot up and ran in the direction that Toph was facing. Sokka was walking towards us, he had a large smile on his face and he was waving.

"How are you guys doing?" He asked. Katara, Aang and Toph all jumped on him.

"We missed you so much!" Katara exclaimed.

"Quick, say something funny!" Aang eagerly begged.

"Funny? how?" Sokka asked. His comment managed to get us all to giggle stupidly.

"What's their deal?" Sokka asked.

"Don't know, they missed your or something," Toph shrugged.

"So did you," I remarked. She turned into a faint shade of red.

"Anyway, guys, I need some help," Sokka smiled. He told us that he was about to forge himself a sword, and that he wanted to use the meteor that fell from the sky as the steel for the blade. I was about to ask him how on earth he was going to master forging his own weapon in less than a day, or how on earth he was at a high enough skill level to do something like that, but I decided not to question it.

Carrying the meteor was a long and difficult chore. We not only had to roll a huge rock to a mansion that was a good distance away, but we had to walk uphill to a mansion that was a good distance away. Toph helped with her earth bending, but it was still hard work. She didn't pick up the rock and toss it because that would probably expose us to some random civilians that may have been taking a stroll.

The mansion was surrounded by a large wall. We pushed the rock up to a pair of great red doors that were decorated with dragon heads and gold. Sokka knocked furiously on the door knockers, and soon a cold faced man holding a sheathed blade answered.

"Who's this?" He asked as he studied us.

"Oh, these are just my friends, just other good Fire Nation folks," Sokka replied. There was a small twitch in the master's eyes, but he didn't protest. He nodded and allowed us to come into his yard. Almost instantly, Sokka, Pian Dao and his butler got to work. We watched them as they broke the meteor into small chunks to melt them into a red hot liquid. The process of forging the blade took two days. They would hammer, melt, cool and reheat the blade over and over again, until one day they were finished.

Sokka had a strange look of accomplishment on his face when he gazed at the finished black blade. Pian Dao gave the sword a few experimental swings, and nodded in satisfaction. He then ordered us into his home. Inside the large mansion, we all sat behind Sokka who was seated in front of his master.

"When you first arrived, you were so unsure," Pian Dao started. "You seemed even down on yourself, but I saw something in you right away. I saw a heart as strong as a Lion-Turtle and twice as big, and as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me," He grabbed the newly forged blade from his butler and held it . "No, it certainly wasn't your skills,"

I couldn't help but let a small giggle out.

"You showed something beyond that, creativity, versatility, intelligence. These are the traits that define a great swordsman, and these are the traits that define you," He knelt in front of the water tribe warrior and presented the blade to him. "You told me before that you didn't know if you were worthy, but I believe that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained,"

Sokka looked down at the blade that was in his hands, his face went from a happy expression to a sad one. He sighed and presented the blade towards his master, who just looked at him in confusion. "No, master, I am not worthy," Pian Dao's expression didn't change. "I'm not from the Fire Nation, I'm from the Southern Water Tribe,"

Aang, Toph and Katara all gasped in shock and fear. I, however, was more perplexed with Pian Dao's expression. He didn't look surprised by the revelation, it was more of a "Tell me something I didn't know," look that was etched on his face.

"I lied so that I could learn swordsmanship from you, I'm sorry," Sokka stood up, thrusting the blade towards his master, but Pian Dao still didn't take the blade.

"I'm sorry too," Pian Dao spun, drawing his own blade and nearly cleaving Sokka's head off. It was a good thing that Sokka's reflexes were as good as they were. Sokka drew his space sword and deflected a second strike. We had gotten to their feet to help the water tribe warrior, but he held his hand out towards us, stopping us.

"No, this is my fight, alone," Sokka told us.

Now I'm not exactly sure how we ended up outside, because I don't remember Pian Dao or Sokka throwing slashes at each other as they exited the building. They went out into the courtyard at the back of the house, and they each stood a few feet away from one another. We watched them as they stared each other down, and soon, Pian Dao was the first to move.

He made a few experimental stabs towards Sokka, who quickly deflected and retaliated with his own. Both swordsman hadn't started fighting, they were trying to size each other up. Pian Dao made a fake wide slash, which Sokka tried to take advantage of with a forward stab. Pian Dao deflected the stab and punched Sokka away with a solid hit. Now the real fight had begun. Pian Dao mercilessly charge Sokka, slashing at the boy. Sokka managed to deflect the blows, and soon they found themselves in a bamboo garden at the far end of the backyard. Sokka tried to use the bamboo sticks to smack the old man, and his plan worked to some extent.

Pian Dao, however, wasn't slowed down by the sticks that slapped him. He would carefully slice the large bamboo plants in order to avoid actual harm. This slowed him down and allowed Sokka to get a good ways away from the master. They ran back towards the courtyard, and Sokka planted his blade in the ground. He slashed upwards and sent dirt flying into his master's eyes.

"Good," Pian Dao smiled as he closed his eyes. He stood still in a ready stance and waited. Sokka began to creep away when his foot stepped on a small twig. The small crack snapped Pian Dao's head to the boy's location, and the old man attacked. He did a blind strike which Sokka deflected, and both began to spin their blades around. Eventually, Sokka's sword went flying, and Piano Dao pushed him to the ground.

Aang, Katara and Toph all ran towards Sokka, but they Stopped when Pian Dao took a relaxed stance and smiled. "Excellent work Sokka," He signaled towards his waiter who threw a scabbard towards him. Pian Dao held his sword out, and the scabbard slid onto his blade perfectly. He then turned towards us, his eyes still closed.

"I think I'm a little too old to be fighting the Avatar," He half laughed.

"How did you know?" Aang asked.

"I've been around a while, you pick up a few things along the way," Pian Dao answered. His butler carried a cloth which the master used to clear his eyes. "Of course, I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water Tribe,"

"Wait, if you knew then why did you agree to train me?" Sokka asked.

"The way of the sword doesn't belong to one nation, knowledge of the arts belong to us all," Pian Dao collected Sokka's blade and handed it to the boy. "You must continue your training on your own, I know that if you stay on this path, you will become a great master, maybe even greater than I am,"

We said our good byes and soon found ourselves on the road again. As we were about the leave, Pian Dao gave us a small chip with a picture of a white lotus flower on it. We didn't know what to make of it, but Sokka pocketed it. He said he wanted to keep a memento of his master.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sokka exclaimed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of black rock. "Toph, I think you might like this, seeing as you've never had the chance to bend space earth before," He handed the small rock to the girl, who then started to bend it into different shapes. She eventually settled on a small bracelet which he placed around her arm.

Now, I was rather jealous, because I had never done something this nice for Toph. Katara noticed and smiled mischievously, which made me turn from a slight pink to a bright red.

"Not a word," I whispered into her ear.

"Sure," She laughed.

We made our way back to camp, and we all enjoyed a good night's sleep.


End file.
